


through the fire and into the flames

by zipplekink



Category: One Direction (Band), Zayn Malik (Musician)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blow Jobs, Bottom Zayn, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Hand Jobs, M/M, Mentions of past abuse, Minor Violence, Mutual Pining, mention of panic / ptsd like symptoms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-13
Updated: 2017-02-09
Packaged: 2018-08-14 17:32:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 111,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8022856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zipplekink/pseuds/zipplekink
Summary: “I can’t,” Liam shutters out, eyes falling to where he hovers his hand between them. Zayn gasps slightly, latching his eyes onto the flames that lick up and down Liam’s fingers. “What if I hurt you?”
       “You won’t,” Zayn assures him. [Or the one where Liam can manipulate and Zayn can turn invisible, and they are both trying to figure out how to control their powers and their feelings. Featuring Telekinetic Niall, Harry talking to bunny rabbits and oak trees, telepathic Ned and weather controlling Griff.]





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!! I've finally written enough to share with you and there are a million and one people I want to thank for their support and encouragement. Without you it would have never gone from a drabble series to a fic I'm actually excited to share. Caroline, Jesse, everyone on tumblr and twitter who have sent me support. The Ziam GC, I love you all. Thank you to Laura and Blinne for your help editing ^_^, forever grateful!
> 
> PLEASE READ!!  
> Before you read, I am going to add tags as I post chapters as not to spoil anything. BUT I want to mention that there will be mentions of past abuse, and mentions of panic and eventual panic attack (which is very briefly described). I try not to describe either in detail, and I will mention it again in the beginning notes of the chapter it is in. There will also be minor violence, if you have any questions please don't hesitate to send me a message, or if you think there is anything that should be tagged that is not, please let me know.
> 
> I hope you enjoy x I will post every week. <3
> 
>  
> 
> Update: [Translated in Russian](https://ficbook.net/readfic/6820335)

“Honey, are you sure you don't need me to run out to the store and get you more underwear -”

“ _Mum_ ,” Liam exclaims in embarrassment, eyes darting around him to make sure none of the other students around him have heard that over the shuffle of feet and excited chatter surrounding him. He feels his cheeks grow hot, and his mother frowns like she can feel it too.

Well she _can_ , everyone around him can. The way he burns hotter than the summer sun above them drags the attention of his classmates to him, more so than the words spoken by his mother. Sometimes, he wishes he were like Zayn, able to hide from everyone’s sight just to avoid the irritated eyes narrowed at him.

“Everyone wears them, dear,” she sighs.

He ignores that, shaking his head as he drops his suitcases to find the key to his dorm room deep in his pocket. She has been fretting over everything he has packed all morning, insisting he needs more than five toothbrushes, unhappy with the fact that he wasn’t packing the _whole_ medicine cabinet despite the fact there is an infirmary on campus. Even taking his shirts out from his suitcase and refolding them, fussing over and over about how _I told you how to fold these properly, Liam_.

“I have plenty,” Liam mumbles.

“Well, fine,” she sighs again. It is a noise he can’t wait to be away from for the next year. “You know, I can't believe Malay denied your request for a new dorm.”

Liam grimaces at the annoyed tone of his mother's voice as he opens the door. Their dorm hasn't changed any since he left, though he knows that is because Zayn doesn't spend much time in here over the summer unless he is in his room. He closes his eyes, trying to sense the other lad inside but he gets nothing.

“I'll have a talk with him -”

“Mum,” Liam says, as he grabs his suitcases. He avoids her eyes, knowing he is going to be scolded when she finds out that he didn't actually _tell_ the Headmaster that his mother wanted him to be moved. “I don't need to move.”

“That Malik boy is a danger, honey.”

Liam huffs out a sarcastic laugh as he drops his bags in the entryway. His mother's eyes narrow as her hands plant firmly onto her hips, but he can’t find it in himself to be bothered by the angered look on her face.

“Oh yeah, his invisibility is very life threatening. However the fact that I turn into an oven that makes other people feel like they are going to have a heat stroke is no worry at all.”

A patient look crosses his mother’s face as she reaches up to place a palm to his burning cheek. At least she has stopped flinching every time Liam’s temperature spikes up, though the redness of her own cheeks still bothers him.

“You are not harmful, honey. I will talk to Malay about this if you do not want to, have a good semester.”

Liam nods, tucking his fingers into his pockets. There is no point in furthering the discussion, since he knows his mother won’t listen to anything he has to say. He just hopes Malay won’t find him another dorm room. “Yeah, alright. Love you.”

“Love you too.” She looks past him, smiling softly. “Have a good semester, Scout.”

Liam flips around, eyes searching until he finds the tuft of coarse, black curly hair and faintly sees the outline of Scout’s facial features. Their skin is the same pale blue as the dorm walls, making them blend easily in.

Scout’s eyes open before they step forward, skin falling back to its normal dark shade of brown. “Oops.”

Liam chuckles before kissing his mum on the cheek. “See you.”

When she leaves, Scout comes over to help him with his bags, a grimace on their lips. “Sorry for eavesdropping. I couldn't help it, you made the room fuckin’ hot, man.”

Liam sighs. He always does. “It's alright. Just don't tell Zayn, yeah?”

“I got you,” they say, following after Liam towards his room. “I wonder why she hates the Maliks though, they're legends.”

Liam shrugs. He has always wondered the same thing, and he has asked a million times and has never gotten a proper response. Something to do with the amount of things they could do, how people who have too many powers were _always_ dangerous. His mother just rambled on about how they couldn’t be trusted, though she never said why she felt that way.

It is ironic, since Zayn is probably the _only_ person Liam trusts.  

He had tried to keep it from her, the fact that Zayn lived with him, for as long as possible. But it was hard with how snoopy his mother was, and his inability to not answer the phone whenever Zayn called over the summer. It had caused a chant of those irritated sighs for weeks towards him.

“I don't know,” he mumbles, pushing open his bedroom door. It is completely empty other than the furniture, but the blinds are pulled up and the air conditioner is already blowing like Zayn had turned it on this morning. He smiles softly to himself before propping the suitcase on his bed. “Have you seen Zayn?”

Scout shakes their head, making the beaded earrings hanging from their ears jingle. “Nah, probably in his spot.”

Liam finds himself grinning again, a fondness blossoming in his chest over how strange Zayn is for finding peace in a place as creepy as the burned down building on the edge of campus. A place that should be more haunting to him than anyone else.

Scout wrinkles their nose, their dark brown eyes bright with amusement. “Go burn him to death with your pining, not me.”

Liam barks out a laugh, shoving Scout away with a playful and embarrassed punch in the shoulder. They were the last to move into their dorm out of all of them, arriving at the start of last year while the rest of them have been together since the beginning, but the quickest to catch on to his painfully obvious feelings for Zayn.

“Shove off,” he laughs, ignoring the steady building heat over his skin.

+*

It is a creepy place, dark and quiet. The walls and ceiling are filled with holes and cracks, the windows shattered and the rows of counters that managed to survive the fire covered in black burn marks. He has cleaned up some of the ashes from the ground, the broken glass and indistinguishable items a few years ago. Malay had allowed him to bring in a table to do his work, though it didn’t come without question as to _why_ Zayn would want to study here.

It is just peaceful, even though it shouldn’t be. It is quiet, and the coldest place, though the summer sun burns through every hole and crack. And no one comes in here, thinking it is haunted or just creeped out by the fact that someone _died_ in here -

Zayn traces the name, raised on a gold plaque against the wall. It makes his chest ache reading  her name, but he is also comforted by it. He has nothing of hers, no memory, just nothing - except this room, this plaque that barely made it, and a small emerald necklace that he wears around his neck.

He sits at his desk, a text book laying open despite the fact that it is summer - and he is probably the only student that has to study on their break. All of his other classmates are off enjoying the holidays, their family, their freedom. Not that he doesn’t understand _why_ Malay wants him to constantly study and practice, but the pressure of being the best to live up to the Malik name is starting to get tiring.

He lets his eyes fall closed, hands laid on his lap as he focuses on the spot at the low of his spine. It has gotten easier, creating that coolness over his skin that feels like ice melting over him. He can multitask now, no longer needed his full attention to keep invisible. He doesn’t have full control though, it still takes him by surprise, sometimes when he gets nervous or embarrassed.

Zayn opens his eyes as he reaches his hand out. He smiles proudly when he doesn’t see anything other than the room around him. It used to freak him out, not being able to see himself and how it would take over him randomly and without warning. Malay has insisted that he will soon see the development of another power, that he can _feel_ it or whatever, but Zayn isn’t so sure.

The sudden warmth that drifts through the room takes his attention, making his heart leap in his chest. There is something distinctive about it, though he can’t quite put a finger on why he knows the heat is from Liam rather than anything else. A pulse takes over his skin, like a blanket of a heart beat is covering him and he shifts off the table.

It is fast, the heart beat, making concern fill him as he feels the spike of the temperature, the closer he gets to the other lad. That usually only happens when Liam is upset somehow, or feeling something strongly, and he stumbles over the tile floor to find him.

It has been months since they have seen each other. Liam, like the others, had left the school for the summer months. Though he went to football camp rather than home for most of it, something about it being a distraction from his constant busy mind - and being able to hide his constant warmth while running underneath the summer sun.

He hasn’t changed much, Zayn thinks when he spots him in the entryway of the building - the only part of the building that remains mostly intact. His skin has darkened some, and there are streaks of gold in his hair from the sun. He wears a white shirt wrapped tightly around his chest, his black jeans hanging low on his hips.

“Zayn?” Liam calls out, tucking his fingers into his pant pockets. He too is afraid to venture too far into the wrecked building, having once said he gets a creepy feeling while in here. Zayn once convinced him to walk in further, but Liam had gotten so hot he had been afraid for the other lad and quickly rushed back out.

Zayn doesn’t speak up, but Liam’s eyes shift over him and a smile takes over his lips before he starts looking around again. “I know you’re in here, Zed.”

“How did you know?” Zayn says back, and Liam’s eyes dart across where he stands.

Liam shrugs, his full lips fighting off the grin trying to take over them. “Dunno. Just knew.”

Zayn tiptoes closer and Liam’s eyes follow as if he can see him. He knows he can’t as Liam’s brows push together and his eyes move over his general space, but sometimes Zayn swears he can with the way his eyes always seem to follow in his direction whenever he is trying to hide away from everyone.

“I reckon it’s ‘cause you’re cold,” Liam murmurs, shifting his weight onto one foot. Up close, Zayn can see how red his face is, and the line of sweat that covers his brow. That heat washes over him as he gets near, but it isn’t uncomfortable like their roommates claim it to be. It wraps around him, settles in his bones and comforts the wrack of nerves in his belly that annoy him because it has been three years, and he still feels them around Liam.

Zayn reaches out and brushes his fingers against Liam’s neck, over his birthmark, to feel the pulse under his skin that matches the beat against his own. It makes Liam jump, lips parting around a surprised breath. “Am I?”

“Yeah,” Liam says without hesitation. “Let me see you. Missed you.”

He appears back in front of his best mate, trying not to be obvious about the way Liam’s words make his heart feel too big for his chest. But a smile breaks against his lips, painful in the way they push against his cheeks and he knows it is obvious. Liam’s eyes find him instantly, and they spark so bright they could be blinding. “You did?”

“Yeah. You, the group, the school,” Liam goes on, his face flushing a deeper shade of red.

“Have a bad summer?” Zayn asks in concern, wanting to reach out to him. He wants to press himself against Liam’s chest really, because he has missed him so much. He loves his alone time, but he has missed being able to sneak into Liam’s room at night when he can’t sleep because of his nightmares; seeing those sleepy heavy eyes early in the kitchen each morning, with a cup of coffee waiting for him.

He has missed the constant warmth surrounding him, and the soft smile that constantly takes over his lips. He has missed Liam’s laughter, and the way he over does it whenever he laughs at something stupid Zayn says or does. His constant touches, the pads of his fingertips dragging over his back or tickling under his chin. His banter with the other boys, and how often he pushes his lips into a pout when they tease him.

There is a softness about him that feels like a secret just for him, and he has missed that the most. The way Liam will drop his voice and trace his fingers against Zayn’s skin, eyes so warm despite the concern or sadness that usually holds his features when he softens for him like that.

“No,” Liam chuckles, cocking his head to the side as he raises his brows. “Well, I did almost give the goalie heat stroke during one of our games. But other than that, not bad.”

Zayn rolls his eyes, not wanting to laugh at that. “Have you been practicing like Malay -”

“Yes,” Liam interrupts, though not unkindly. It is just a topic he gets frustrated with easily. “Loads, still no better at controlling it though.”

Zayn sighs but Liam reaches out, tucking his fingers underneath his chin. The others say when Liam is this hot it hurts to touch him, and he has seen them constantly flinching away whenever Liam gets upset, but it doesn’t feel like he is being burned. He can just tell how hot he is, the same way he can tell what emotion is causing it. “I think I need my tutor. The best in the class -”

“Quiet,” Zayn grumbles, swatting Liam’s hand away. “I’m not the best.”

“Headmaster Ho thinks so.”

Zayn presses his lips together, giving Liam a hard look. “That’s shit, mate.”

Liam quirks up a questioning brow at him. “Oh really?”

Zayn rolls his eyes, pushing past him. “Come on, Li, I’m sure you need help unpacking.”

Liam grins, following after him. “Or you just want to steal more of me shirts.”

 

Their dorm room is on the first floor, allowing a door that leads outside and one that leads into the hallway of the building, towards the lobby. There is a kitchen big enough to fit three at a time, and a living room with two couches and a chair. The hallway extending off the living room leads to their three bedrooms, with two per bedroom, and their bathroom. It had seemed massive when he was alone, but now it feels as if there is no space as his roommates move in with the help of their families.

“Ay Zayner,” Niall greets, clapping him on the back as Zayn reaches for his mum who is all smiles. His blond hair is lighter than usual, practically white now, and a sunburn covers the tip of his nose, contrasting shockingly with his paler skin. “Missed me?”

“No,” Zayn jokes as Mrs. Horan pats him on the back. “Missed your mum, though.”

“Oh no,” she laughs, swatting him on the chest as Niall glares at him. It isn’t threatening though, as Niall’s best attempt at looking scary makes him just look grumpy.

“Didn’t miss you either,” Niall grumbles, glancing at him and then Liam. “Didn’t miss burning to death every time Liam looks -”

“Hey,” Liam interrupts, causing a wave of heat to radiate off of him. It makes Niall’s face crumple even more, his pale skin trying to match the color of the tip of his nose. “I missed you.”

This relaxes Niall’s features, and he gives them a grin that is more fitting for him. “I missed you too. Though, I’m serious about the burning to death.”

Liam snorts before he gives Niall a big hug. “And I didn’t miss you accidentally flying items at me head.”

“One time!” Zayn hears Niall exclaim as he walks off down the hallway, laughing under his breath. “That was one time! And emphasis on the ‘accidentally’!”

“It was a plate,” Liam laughs back. “You could have killed me, mate.”

His bedroom is the last on the left, across from Liam and Niall’s. He eyes the crack of his door before pushing it open, revealing his roommate, Ned, shuffling through the suitcases he has opened on the bed closest to the door.

“Ay!” Ned greets, grinning up at him. His brown hair is pushed up into a tall quiff, square framed glasses hanging off his long nose. His shirt is an array of obnoxious shapes and colors, which he always tries to wear instead of the plain, white button up shirts that are part of their uniform. (It never works out well, but Ned still tries it like he hasn’t been written up over a dozen times for it.) “Did you invite Blast in here? The room looks like a tornado hit it.”

Zayn grins, leaning against the door. His boots are strewn across the floor along with a few packs of colored pencils and his blankets ruffled, there is a pile of clothes on top of his desk and some thrown over his bureau rather than in it. But it isn't _that_ messy.

“Been busy.”

Ned raises his eyebrows. “Been on adventures with Headmaster Ho?”

“No,” Zayn laughs, shaking his head. “He has given me more work to do than I get in a school year, I swear.”

The other man wiggles his thick brows as he props himself onto his bed. “ _Secretive_ work?”

Zayn rolls his eyes at that. Every so often Ned asks this, but the only secret he can think of is Malay still walks around his house with his kitten slippers on, even though they look older than he is. “No. Why do you always think Malay has all these secrets?”

Ned sighs, pushing his glasses higher up his nose. “‘Cause I can't read his thoughts. It's like hitting a brick wall. He must be hiding something. And plus, all old wise people have secrets, right?”

“Yeah, he is hiding how annoying he thinks you are.”

Outside the room, he hears Liam’s soft chuckle and it warms through him. It is quiet, and distant, but he knows Liam is approaching. He doesn’t know _how_ he knows, but he just does.

“I take offense to that,” Ned says seriously, but his eyes are bright and there is a slight quirk in his lips. “Asshole. is that why I can’t read your thoughts either?”

Zayn only shrugs, giving him a playful grin as Liam steps into the room to say hello to Ned. He _is_ annoying, but Zayn is quite fond of the other lad. Even though half the time they bicker more than anything else.

“Stop being so nosy,” Liam chuckles, clapping his hand to the one Ned holds out for him.

Ned wrinkles his nose, eyes darting back to Zayn as he points to Liam with his thumb. “All this one thinks about is dick.”

Liam shoves him playfully, his face bright red and a wave of hot embarrassment rushing off of him. “That's not true.”

“You think with your dick at least,” Ned says before he is scrambling across the room in a fit of laughter to dodge the fist Liam threatens him jokingly with. He stops, eyes widening before he blurts out a loud laugh. “ _Your_ _heart_? Liam that's fucking corny.”

Liam presses his lips together, waving a hand of dismissal at him. “I hate you.”

“Love you too bro,” Ned calls after him as Liam pads out of the door.

Zayn giggles quietly, elbowing Ned in the side as he tries to hide behind him. “Leave him be.”

 

Every year, on the night of their first day back, their dorm is crowded with everyone from their floor. Music plays in the background, almost as loud as the chatter in the living room - which is mostly just Niall laughing and talking shit with Liam, Louis and the girls from the next room over.

Ned is just as loud as Niall though, as he talks about his summer while he pours juice into red solo cups. He talks to Griff mostly, who stands in front of the stove. Zayn stands beside him, picking at the fries he lays on a plate despite the fact that they burn his fingers and tongue.

“Back home,” Griff says to him quietly. His lips quirk up some when he speaks. “I made it rain over my auntie’s boyfriend’s house for ‘bout like, five days because he broke her heart. Headmaster found out somehow.”

Zayn snorts out a laugh as Griff grabs the plate away from him to place more fries onto it. “Was he mad?”

“Nah,” Griff laughs. “Clapped me on the back said ‘good man’ and told me not to do it again.”

“Oh wow,” Scout exclaims from where they sit on the counter after squeezing their way into the crowded kitchen. “And he gave me detention for accidentally scaring him in the hallway.”

A rumble of laughter fills the kitchen. “Well,” Ned says, pointing an accusing finger to them. “You _were_ skipping class.”

“Details,” Scout exclaims, waving their hand in dismissal.

“And you know that is one of the things Headmaster hates the most,” Liam adds as he comes into the room. Zayn’s eyes drag over to him immediately. He admires the soft smile on his lips, the amusement in his eyes and even the way he _walks._ His beard has grown thicker over the summer, and he wants to threaten Liam into never shaving it again.

“Yeah,” Scout agrees, fingers itching over the tuft of their hair that fluctuates between black and black tipped with blond every few minutes. “He hates that almost as much as Cook’s Monday surprise.”

Liam huffs out a laugh, coming over to the sink to drop his plate into it. His side brushes Zayn’s as he turns on the water, the heat from him radiating over his skin. “Everyone hates Cook’s Monday surprise.”

“Tomorrow’s Monday,” Zayn whispers to him quietly, though he doesn’t know why he feels the need to drop his voice. It is probably for the same reason he feels he doesn’t want anyone else to see the smile on Liam’s face that softens his whole expression. He wants it to be just for _him_.

“And fuck, tomorrow’s Monday,” Niall grumbles as he squeezes into the room. He reaches for a hat hanging on the coat rack by the front door before placing it on his head. “Leemo, you better cook tomorrow.”

Liam looks over his shoulder. “Yeah, fuck that. I have Professor Styles’ class tomorrow, and Professor Green’s. You know they are going to assign like eighteen assignments the first night.”

Niall groans in complaint. “Shit. Maybe Ned.”

Ned laughs as he sips out of his cup and hands one to Scout. “Nah, ask Harry while you’re at his place.”

Everyone stops and looks at Niall, who's face grows redder than Liam’s when he turns into a furnace. “I am - no, I am going for a walk. Just a walk. To look at the - nature. By myself. Totally solo.”

Ned furrows his brows at him in, an amused and confused look on his face. “Dude, I can read your mind, remember?”

Niall narrows his eyes at him, grumbling something with more cuss words than Zayn can count before he turns around and stomps out of the door.

Liam turns off the water before placing the plate in the sink. There is amusement in his features, making him burn brighter than ever. “Will you help me? With Green’s work? I’ve always understood Styles’.”

Zayn nods, pinching his hip and returning the smile. “‘Course, I’ll help.”

“Thanks,” Liam says quietly as he washes off his hands with the dish towel hanging above the sink. He steals a fry, wiggling his thick eyebrows in this adorable way before heading back out towards the living room.

“Ay,” Ned says, handing a cup to him. “Wanna know what Liam was thinking? It wasn’t about dick this time. Well, not _technically_. I wouldn’t be surprised if it led there.”

“No,” Zayn says immediately, narrowing his eyes at Ned. He understands the other lad can’t help but to read thoughts, but he knows Malay has taught him well enough that most of the time he has to choose to read thoughts in order to hear them. But Ned is addicted to being nosy, the way Griff is addicted to studying, the way Scout is addicted to shopping, and the way Zayn feels addicted to Liam. “That’s an invasion of his privacy.”

“He was practically yelling in his mind, dude. I didn’t even try to listen,” Ned insists. He wiggles his brows, lips quirking up. “Are you sure you don’t want to know? He - ”

“I’m sure,” Zayn interrupts, frowning at him.

Ned huffs out a laugh, shaking his head as he claps Griff on the back. “Okay, if you say so.”

Zayn presses his lips together, glancing between Griff’s amused face and Ned’s. He presses them together harder until his teeth dig in, craving to know but refusing to give in and invade Liam’s privacy. Especially since half the time, Liam seems preoccupied by thoughts that make his brow stressed and creates a sad look in his eyes. “I do.”

Ned laughs as he sips at his drink. “When he comes into the room, I don’t even have to read your thoughts to know what you’re thinking.”

“Yeah,” Griff laughs, shutting off the burner. “It’s obvious, bro.”

Zayn frowns as the cold sweeps up his back. It only increases the laughter that he knows isn’t meant to be harmful but embarrasses him anyway as he walks out of the room.

In the living room, Jade sits in one of the chairs with her fingers brushing through Jesy’s hair, who sits on the floor in front of her. Liam is on the couch, legs spread and an arm behind his head as he talks about something with Leigh-Anne curled up on the other side of the couch. There is a lot more people in the room, standing around the couches in small groups, eyes on the television but all Zayn can see is Liam.

He weaves through the people with little ease, taking a few elbows and wandering eyes from the people who want to apologize for knocking into him but can’t find him, before he gets to Liam. Liam’s brows crumple together before they look for him, but he settles beside Liam so he doesn’t have to look too much.

“What is it?” Liam says under his breath, his expression immediately falling into one of concern.

“Nothin’,” Zayn whispers back, squeezing into Liam’s side as Liam moves over some to fit him, so Leigh-Anne won’t accidentally kick his thigh and notice him there. Liam pulls his eyes away from Zayn, as Leigh-Anne looks back at him, pretending he isn’t there.

“I’ve got something for your birthday,” Zayn goes on quietly, biting at the grin that so easily takes over his lips when he is with the other lad.

Liam struggles to keep the smile off of his lips as he brushes his fingers against his shoulder so gently it probably wouldn’t be noticed by anyone, but it is all he can notice. He waits for Leigh-Anne to finish speaking before he excuses himself and lets Zayn stand up first.

Liam follows after him, though he doesn’t make himself visible as they walk between people and down the hallway. His fingers never leave his hip, the rough pads of his finger tips gripping into the bare of his skin and the start of his briefs and Zayn is quite sure Liam isn’t aware.

Not that he minds, of course. He has thought too often of Liam’s fingers there, pushing under the start of his briefs until the material was sliding past his hips. On every part of his skin really.

Zayn rolls his eyes at himself, at how easily he can get wrapped up in thoughts of Liam’s bare skin as he pushes open his bedroom door and returns so Liam can see him. A lopsided grin takes over the other lad’s lips as he steps in beside him.

“What is it?”

“You’re not going to think it’s funny,” Zayn says, nervous suddenly that Liam will actually hate his attempt at making a joke. Though he would never admit it, it would just be obvious in his forced laughter that he thinks comes off as genuine.

Liam frowns, lips pouting out some. “Probably will.”

Zayn gives him a long look before he reaches into his nightstand, pulling out the sketchpad he leaves there. He flips through a few pages of half finished drawings before he finds the one that had made him laugh for much longer than he would like to admit.

He hands it to Liam, whose brows scrunch together immediately. “What is it?”

Zayn grimaces slightly as he points to the stove he drew, beside a long rectangular piece of glass drawn very lightly. “It's us.”

Liam blurts out a laugh, seemingly genuine with the deep crinkles that appear by his eyes. “Why are you a tall square?”

Zayn feels a flame take over his cheeks as he shrugs. “I’m glass. Like, you can see right through me.”

“I love it,” Liam huffs out as he holds the sketchpad properly to rip the page out carefully. Zayn waits for it, staring at him in excitement as he reveals the page underneath that one.

Liam glances up at him as he places the stove picture on the nightstand. It had taken him ages to draw the next one, especially because when drawing Liam he gets so easily distracted by every detail. From the shape of his lips to the thick of his fingers. Tracing out his thighs had been a nightmare, because Zayn’s mind had flooded with thoughts of his mouth on the inside of them and the drawing had gone forgotten after that.

“Is this me?”

He wears a red and black suit with a bright yellow _H_ stitched over a solid black diamond on his chest. One fist is clenched shut, the other opened with steam pouring up from his palm. Zayn had drawn him a bit more muscular than he really is, and had obsessed over finding the right pink to shade across his cheeks.

“You can't tell?” Zayn asks.

Liam stares at it for a long moment, a look of amazement on his face. “You made me a superhero.”

Zayn snorts, fondness blossoming in his chest from how adorable the other lad is. The idea had popped into his mind after thinking about a conversation they once had, tucked into Liam’s bed one night while Liam talked softly about how he liked the idea of having powers to do good in the world. His words coated in a fear that his would only lead him to do the opposite. “Yeah, Heatwave.”

Liam huffs out a laugh. “I reckon that name is already taken babe, but I love it.”

Zayn tucks his smile against Liam’s shoulder, tickling his fingers against his back. “Good, I'm glad.”

+*

Liam has always found it hard to sleep on his first night back at the Academy, too excited and overwhelmed by the power that pulses through the campus. The cold air blowing onto him makes him a bit more comfortable; Niall’s snoring not as annoying yet. He stares up at the ceiling, mind too busy to let him relax enough to fall asleep.

It is the reason he has failed so miserably at the meditation practices Malay has instructed him to do. He can never quiet his brain, can never focus on his breathing or a certain body part for more than a few seconds before his mind is being plagued with frustration and self-doubt.

He covers his face with his palms, exhaling before he hears a soft thump in the distance. He frowns, pulling his hands away so he can focus on the way it steadily builds.

Liam pushes up, his own heart trying to match the erratic pulse that feels as if it is against his skin. He only glances at Niall for a moment before he is pushing up and heading to the last room like there is a string connected to him, tugging him there.

The door creaks as it opens, but Ned doesn't move a muscle. Zayn does though, shifting across his sheets with his fingers gripping into them. His brows are knitted together, lips parted around quiet but harsh breaths.

It creates an ache in his chest that burns deep. He wonders if it is the same nightmare making him toss and turn in his sleep, the one of his parents dying. He can’t count the amount of times Zayn had tiptoed into his room after one of those, hands shaking and eyes swollen like he had cried before wiping his tears away to come into Liam's’ room.

Liam tiptoes over to settle on the edge of Zayn’s bed. He presses a palm to Zayn’s cheek, brushing his thumb over his warm skin, focusing on his wish to comfort the other man.

He feels his palm growing hot and Zayn nuzzles into it, exhaling out before he stills and the tension in his face slowly seeps away. There are moments where he flickers between being invisible and being seen, as if he is trying to hide from whatever plagues his dreams.

Liam stays there like that for a while, stroking the other lad’s skin until his brows scrunch and his eyes move behind his eyelids like he is waking up.

+*

_Tap, tap, tap._

Zayn sighs, watching the pen that he beats repeatedly over his notebook. Liam is the only one in the class actually taking notes, scribbling furiously across his notebook to keep up with the rushed voice of their teacher. Scout beside him is half asleep, their face rested against the textbook and eyes flicking open here and there. Ned has his headphones on in front of him, allowing him to hear a whisper of the music he listens to.

He barely slept the night before, having woken from a repeat of nightmares that made him feel like his skin was on fire. And every time he woke, the room was burning hot like Liam had been in it. It comforted him more than he would like to admit, though the moment sleep took over him the nightmares flooded back.

“Can anyone tell me the average amount of abilities one can possess?”

Zayn flicks his eyes up, shifting back on the chair as the professor’s eyes fall onto him. He doesn’t raise his hand though, not when Liam does so beside him.

“Mr. Malik?”

Zayn shrugs, eyes darting down towards his notebook. He knows the answer, but Liam is right there - raising his hand to answer and he is obviously diverting his eyes as not to be called on.

“Three,” Ned blurts, tickling three fingers into the air. He turns around, glancing at Liam with a smirk on his lips before resting back against the chair.

“Correct, Mr. _Malik_ ,” Professor Green says pointedly, eyes narrowed towards Ned. “Has there ever been persons to possess more?”

Liam raises his hand again, but Green’s eyes dart over him like it is Liam that is the invisible one and not Zayn. “Ms. Thirlwall?”

Jade jerks her head up, a confused look on her face. “Um, yes?”

“Right,” Professor Green says. Zayn sighs when he sees Liam’s shoulders slump. The heat radiating off of him is the only heat that hurts him, the one that is created by Liam’s anger, or sadness. But it doesn’t burn him, it just makes his chest ache.  “Now what do the statistics show about this?”

Liam glances up, but he doesn’t raise his hand this time. Instead the heat grows, his face getting hot and Zayn wants to fall invisible so he can get away with kicking Professor Green in the shin or shove that piece of chalk he hovers in the air up his big nostril.

“They show,” he goes on, wiggling his fingers so the piece of chalk starts writing the words he speaks across the chalkboard. “That only about ten percent of our population has three or more abilities, however, 86% of the inmates at Inis Correctional are gifted with more than four abilities. Why is this?”

Liam shifts then, as the Professor looks around for someone to respond. He gets up from his seat and throws his bag over his shoulder, eyes to the ground and ignoring the Professor that finally notices him.

“Power trip,” Zayn answers loudly as he picks up his textbook and shoves it into his bag a bit more roughly than he intended. “The more power you have, the more you let it get to you. You think you’re better than everyone and allat. Studies show it leads to violence, and everyone at Inis is _violent_.”

Zayn pushes up from his chair, thankful that he can’t radiate heat like Liam because he feels like blasting this Professor with everything he felt radiating off of his best mate. “People can have power trips for all kinds of reasons. And though they might not always lead to violence, they can still be harmful nonetheless.”

He can feel Professor Green’s eyes on him as he pushes out of the classroom, leaving behind a whispered chatter from his classmates. He pushes it out of his mind, instead focusing on the echo of a heartbeat and the trail of heat leading him to Liam.

He finds him outside, sitting on the steps leading up to the building. He doesn’t move when Zayn steps out, or when Zayn sits beside him.

“You didn’t have to follow me out.”

“I did,” Zayn says immediately, knocking his shoulder against Liam’s. “Professor Green’s a dick, mate.”

“Yeah,” Liam huffs out, glancing away from where he stares at his red hands and at Zayn. He loosens the tie around his neck before undoing the top button of his dress shirt. “It’s like I’m the only one struggling with my power, so everyone just assumes I am struggling with everything else.”

Zayn wraps an arm around him, pulling Liam close. It makes his chest ache every time Liam tells him that he feels that way, but he can’t tell him he is wrong for feeling the way he does when Professor Green isn’t the only one who treats him that way. “You’re wicked smart babe. Take your exams and throw it back at them when you get that perfect score.”

Liam chuckles, tapping his fingers against Zayn’s thigh. “I'm just gonna go for a run, blow off some steam.”

Zayn gives him a lopsided grin. “Want me to join you?”

Liam quirks up a brow, a grin playing on his own lips. “You? Can you keep up?”

He rolls his eyes, letting go of Liam to stand up and to jog in place. He actually hates running, and he knows Liam knows that. “Come on.”

Liam stands, tucking his hands into his pockets. “No offense but you run like a penguin, Z.”

Zayn pushes him playfully in the shoulder before he takes off, leaving Liam standing there with a look of surprise on his face before he starts running after him.

He can’t keep up really, especially not in his dress shoes, but Liam never runs past him, making sure he is never more than a few inches ahead and even falling behind so Zayn is in front of him here and there. He doesn’t say anything, but the constant grins that get thrown his way makes it hard for Zayn to keep his eyes ahead.

“This helps?” Zayn huffs out as they circle around the building that is used mostly by those with water related powers. He has never been inside before, but the bottom floor is covered by tall windows that allow him to see the massive pool inside.

“Yeah,” Liam huffs out, his face a bright shade of red but no other heat surrounds him other than the one from the summer sun.

“Strange,” Zayn murmurs to himself. His own heart thumps quickly in his chest, his body warming up from the movement of his legs and arms. “Have you found anything else that makes you um, feel not hot?”

Liam laughs, racing ahead of him a bit until he stops to jog in place. When Zayn reaches him, he takes his hand and presses it against his sweaty neck. “See, still hot. But just like, a regular person.”

Zayn wrinkles his nose, ignoring the flutter in his chest when Liam doesn’t let his hand go. “Well, I like you better than regular people, anyway.”

His fingers tap against his wrist, eyes flicking down as if to show off the soft of his lashes. “Well, I can't really stand you but -”

“Knob,” Zayn grumbles in offense, pushing Liam playfully in the chest. He jogs backwards, wiggling his fingers to indicate Liam to follow. “I'm your best mate, you like me just fine.”

Liam only shrugs, fingers reaching out to tickle against his belly before he runs past him. “Yeah, you're right.”

+*

“Green is a fuckface,” Ned says roughly as he pads into the living room with Scout where Liam sits, placing a cold rag against the back of his neck. After his run, he had flamed up, and Zayn had told him he could shower first to cool down but Liam insisted that Zayn could.

Liam nods, sliding the rag down to his chest. His shirt lays discarded on the table, covered in sweat. The run had helped to cool him down, but it had stopped working when Zayn ran into Liam, his body hard against his as Liam wrapped an arm around his waist to keep him from stumbling.

“Seriously,” Ned goes on, sitting beside him. “You knew every answer.”

Liam doesn’t respond. He is used to it. All of his Professors make him feel like he doesn’t know anything, even the Headmaster. Who is the worst of all, constantly pushing him to do stuff he can’t do and making it seem like it is so easy for him to just do it.

“I put gum on his seat,” Scout says as they take the chair. They fiddle with the end of their dark green uniform skirt, a proud grin playing on their lips. “He’s been walkin’ around with it on his butt and shit, doesn’t even realize.”

Liam lets out a laugh, shaking his head. “Thanks, Scout.”

Scout shrugs like it isn’t anything. “No one messes with my friends.”

Zayn pads in then, making Liam stiffen as his eyes drag down his bare body. Only a red towel hangs low on on his hips, letting him see the water droplets that slide down his chest, the ink trailing up his arms and torso. He always knew Zayn had a lot of tattoos, but it always takes his breath away when he sees just how many.

“Oh god,” Ned complains, pushing away from Liam as he flares up, diverting his eyes from Zayn but it doesn’t stop his thoughts from focusing on Zayn’s bare skin. Scout barks out a laugh, covering their face as they shake with it.

“Um,” Zayn starts, shifting awkwardly. His brows clench together a few times in concern as he looks at Liam. “You can use the shower now.”

He turns then, practically tripping over his feet. Ned shoves Liam as he gets up, cackling out his laughter. “Told you all you think about is dick.”

Liam ignores that as he pushes his way into the bathroom. He is getting used to it, though he still feels a bit of hate towards the heat that constantly covers his skin. The way it builds whenever his emotions spike, even a small amount.

Liam stares at the mirror in the bathroom, at the sweat lining his brow and the red covering his cheeks. It runs from his throat to the start of his chest, where his heart pounds unevenly. He cups the edge of the sink, looking down at the cool water that streams from the faucet before he cups his hands underneath it to splash his face.

He feels ridiculous. The worst part about this all are the eyes that glance his way, the concern that takes over Zayn’s face whenever he flares up. Like Zayn is worried that he is upset or something, when really he is just flustered because of his stupid feelings for the other lad and Ned had been kind of right about him thinking with his dick, because it is so easy for Zayn to send a spark of arousal through him. He feels like a teen going through puberty half the time, his dick perking up from even the smallest thought of Zayn’s body.

Liam groans into his palms, the cool water slipping down his chin and trickling down his neck. The only good thing about the whole situation is that it makes Zayn’s cheeks darken with a blush as he feels the heat from Liam, and he is the only one who doesn’t grimace and sweat like it makes him uncomfortable.

A knock at the door drags Liam’s face away from his hands and he shuts the water off as he hears that familiar voice that makes his heart pick up in his chest.

“Li? You alright?”

Liam groans quietly as the heat snakes down his back. It makes the cooling drops smoke slightly from his skin. He wishes after three years of being around Zayn that he would be able to control this by now, but it only feels as if it is getting worse. He has seen Zayn shirtless plenty of times, and he feels embarrassed for having to run and hide in the bathroom trying to erase the thoughts of his fingers and lips on Zayn’s skin just to cool down.

“M’okay,” he calls through the door.

“Then let me in.”

Liam looks up at the ceiling, lips pressing shut around another groan he wants to let out before he shuffles to the door and unlocks it. He knows Zayn isn’t going anywhere, knows the other lad is insistent on making him cool down whenever his heat spikes up.

Zayn is frowning, lips pouted out and brows knitted together as Liam opens the door. He doesn’t hesitate to press his palm to Liam’s forehead, like the burn on his skin doesn’t bother him. It bothers most people, makes them flinch away or leave the room. He wears a shirt now though, one of his own with the first few buttons unpopped and revealing the emerald pendant he always wears.

“Breathe,” Zayn murmurs, expression soft as he slides his palm to Liam’s cheek. Liam complies, counting to three as he inhales before exhaling slowly. He does this a few times, and it works a bit, though the heat settles in his belly from the gentle way Zayn touches him.

“Again,” Zayn instructs, stepping closer as he moves his palm to the center of Liam’s chest. The pace of his heart spikes up, but the heat doesn’t take over, nothing out of the ordinary at least. Just what Liam considers _normal_ heat, for him.

“I’m okay,” Liam insists, but Zayn’s fingers slide up to his neck, cupping it as his thumb strokes over his pulse and he wants to pretend to not to be okay for a moment just to have Zayn keep touching him like this. “I promise.”

“What happened?” Zayn murmurs, pulling his hand away like he is satisfied with the way his temperature drops. “I thought the run helped?”

“Nothin’,” Liam murmurs, trying to hide his embarrassment. His eyes linger on the part of Zayn’s lips, and it is so quiet around them, the room still lingering with a warmth that doesn’t compare to the warmth in Zayn’s eyes. It would be so easy just to close the space between them, to slot their lips together in the way Liam always craves to, but he would either hurt Zayn physically by accidentally burning him to death or hurt himself when Zayn pushes him away.

“Liar,” Zayn mutters, lips quirking up. He curls his fingers around the brim of Liam’s dress pants, tugging him forward. “Come on, it is cooler outside and I need a smoke.”

Liam doesn’t tell him that it doesn’t matter if it was below zero outside, his body will always be hot, but he lets Zayn guide him, savoring the feel of Zayn’s fingers slotting between his own.

Ned and Scout are still in the living room, and Niall has joined them, whispering about something that makes their lips press tightly together the moment him and Zayn walk into the living room.

“Hey,” Ned chuckles, nodding his chin towards them. The heat in Liam spikes as he furrows his brows, and a whoosh of cool takes over the skin of his hand as Zayn disappears.

When Liam’s emotions spike he goes hot, affecting the people around him and the temperature of the room. But Zayn goes invisible, though Liam is still trying to learn the cues that cause him to disappear. Nerves, he thinks, though he is never sure of what his best mate is nervous about.

His hand is tugged slightly though Zayn’s hand is gone from sight and then Ned is gasping, face crumpling into a glare as he cups his knee. He flicks them off as Zayn tugs him closer to the outside door, making Niall laugh from where he sits on the lazy boy near the television.

“Leave them alone, Ned,” he hears Niall mutter as Zayn opens the door. “I feel like I’m burning to death. I’m begging ya, _leave them alone_.”

When he turns, Zayn is in front of him again, a blush taking over his cheeks, and he doesn’t let Liam’s hand go despite the heat he feels there. Zayn doesn’t say anything, only falls to his side and looks up at where the sun hides behind the clouds. It is a bit cool outside as the days start to become shorter and cooler, with a bit of a breeze blowing over his skin and it feels good.

The summers are the worst, except for when he is running. He feels normal then, but after a game or practice, he had to lock himself in his room with the air conditioner blasting on high for the rest of the day.

“He’s a dick,” Zayn mutters as he starts walking to the gazebo in the center of the yard, the one Liam can normally find Zayn at when he needs a smoke.

“He’s alright,” Liam lies, knowing him and Zayn are good friends. He doesn’t actually mind Ned much, he just can get annoying with the constant jokes. He knows Ned knows how he feels about Zayn, and he is nervous Ned is going to stop teasing him about telling Zayn and actually _tell_ him.

Zayn looks at him, nose wrinkling and something bright in his eyes. “Liar.”

Liam gives him a guilty shrug as Zayn lets go of his hand and digs in his pants, producing a crumpled pack of cigarettes. He pulls one out, distracting Liam by the way his lips wrap around the end before he shoves his fingers back into his pocket to get a lighter.

He wonders if it is his ability that makes him react more than he normally would, to be more sensitive, because his belly twists at the sight, making Zayn’s eyes flick up towards him. The others’ know more about their abilities than he knows about his own. He is still trying to figure out what he can do with it other than be uncomfortable, what the purpose of it is, how to control it, more importantly.

But really, he thinks it is just being around _Zayn_ , that makes him like this.

Zayn inhales before passing the cigarette to him, the flickering flame causing an uncomfortable swoop in his chest. He watches Liam as he exhales, a look on his face that Liam can’t read. “The other lads say it’s uncomfortable, your heat.”

Liam stays quiet, letting his lungs fill with the bitter smoke that rolls over his tongue.

“I like it,” Zayn admits, quietly like he isn’t sure if it is okay to say. “It doesn’t bother me at all.”

Liam’s lips quirk up some, eyes finding Zayn’s soft features. It feels better when Zayn touches him, though Zayn creates the heat. It isn’t as uncomfortable as when he is angry or upset. They both consume him, but he can handle the heat in his chest from Zayn; he can’t handle the heat that smokes and flames inside of him when he is angry.

“Good, I don’t want it to.”

Zayn takes the cigarette from him, cocking his head to the side before he puts it to his lips. His eyes drop, watching where he toes at the wooden board he stands on. “Maybe you do have more control over it than you think.”

Liam only shrugs, exhausted of the subject, though he knows Zayn only wants to make him feel better. “I reckon you’re just somewhat immune to other people’s powers.”

The other lad blurts out a laugh, a bewildered look on his face.“What? What makes you think that?”

He has always thought so, though it never made sense because Zayn does look like he gets warm when Liam is upset, but he can bear it. Ned has said before he has tried to read his thoughts, but it feels like there is a block up that he can’t get past. Jade has raged on Liam before when he accidentally gasped too loudly and woke her up, but when Zayn screamed over a spider one night, she never woke up.

“Dunno,” Liam says instead, giving him another shrug. “Just figured that’s why I don’t effect you.”

“You definitely have an effect on me,” Zayn blurts before he stills, eyes going slightly wide. “I mean, um -”

It is sudden, the way he disappears without a word, cigarette falling to the wooden floor. Liam stomps it out, letting out an awkward laugh as he tries to search for him. “Zayn, what is it?”

“Nothin’,” he hears a few feet away from him. “You do have an effect on me. But a good one, a really good one.”

Liam walks forward, reaching out towards the sound of his voice but ahead he sees the door to their dorm open and close a moment later.

+*

_Flames flicker in front of him, sliding up the walls and sizzling across the tables. The smoke is thick in his nose, burning his eyes but he can’t look away from the black that rises towards the ceiling._

_There is a shadow of a man behind the flames, his voice angry as he yells. His eyes water, making it hard to see him, his heart pounding so loud against his eardrums that he can’t make out what he is saying._

_Panic makes his throat tight, but he screams. He screams, and screams until thick fingers are circling around his wrist and a set of warm eyes come into view. They have flames of their own, but these ones settle the fear inside of him._

_“Wake up,” Liam says, tracing a finger down Zayn’s cheek. “It’s okay, sunshine. Wake up.”_

Zayn gasps, eyes blowing out wide as he stares up at the ceiling. The room is quiet other than the soft sound of Ned’s snores, and the sound of wind blowing through the opened window. It makes the room cool, which he is thankful for as his body is covered in sweat.

He throws his legs over the edge of the bed, clenching his eyes closed for a moment as he tries to catch his breath and remind himself he is in his own dorm room, not the room in his dreams. He always has these dreams, ever since he was younger. But it wasn’t until recently that Liam’s face started to pop up in them.

Zayn pushes up to shut the window - wondering why Ned left open if he hates when Zayn does it - when he spots the mark on the wall beside the window frame.

He sucks in a breath, tracing over the spiral shape. It looks as if it is painted onto the wall, but he knows it will fade. They always do.

He shuts the window, before shuffling out of the room as quietly as possible. He doesn’t know why they appear, or what they mean, but they always seem to comfort him. They had popped up at Malay’s for years. He had been nervous about moving to his own dorm in the Academy, thinking that they would go away, but one showed up his first night.

Zayn curls his fingers around the door knob across from his room and slowly turns it. Thankfully, Niall sleeps like the dead, but Jade’s ability to hear even the tiniest of sounds has always made him careful to be quiet even though she is in the dorm room to the left of them.

Liam’s bed is across from the door, and there is enough light from outside that he can see the way his mouth has fallen open. He lays spread out on his mattress, one hand against the stone wall his bed sits against and the other tucked under his pillow. The blankets are crumpled at the bottom, where they permanently reside, and his shirt and joggers lay in a bundle on the floor.

He feels a bit weird, admiring the bare of Liam’s skin for a moment longer than he really should. The dark makes shadows across his skin, worsening the scarred skin covering the side of his abdomen. He lingers his eyes down to his toned thighs, to the ripple of his muscles and the black material that stretches tightly over his hips, before he rips them away and settles them onto his face. He is beautiful, and there is a pressure in his fingers that makes him feel like he might crumble apart if he doesn’t touch Liam.

He does so, carefully as not to wake him up, tracing a finger over the round of his nose before he climbs into the bed beside him. Liam’s face crumples and relaxes, the arm under his pillow coming to him automatically. Only a moment passes before Zayn feels that cool air seep down his spine, the drop in his belly that tells him he is disappearing. Liam tightens his arm around his shoulders, his Adam’s Apple bobbing as he swallows and shifts to make more room for him.

“You’re cool,” Liam mumbles tiredly, turning his head so his lips knock against Zayn’s forehead. “Bad dream?”

“Mhm,” Zayn mumbles, flattening his palm over Liam’s chest. He is always hot to the touch, like he constantly has a fever, but when he sleeps he is the coolest - only a little warmer than himself. He blasts the air conditioner, which always makes Niall have to sleep with at least four comforters. Though one time, Zayn woke in the middle of the night to find Niall dragging his mattress into his bedroom with his teeth chattering against each other.

“About your parents?”

“Just the fire,” Zayn tells him, looking up at him. It is easier to be with Liam when he is like this, invisible to the eye, because he doesn’t have to get embarrassed about the look he knows his face takes on every time he looks at the other lad. There is a confidence that fills him when Liam cannot see, that allows him to touch Liam idly the way he always craves to. That makes his tongue throb with the words he always wants to say but he always ends up swallowing them down.

Liam flicks his eyes open, brows scrunching for a moment as he curls closer so their chests are aligned. He reaches out blindingly, eyes darting around before his palm comes into contact with Zayn’s cheek.

“Sleep, I’ll make sure no more nightmares come to you,” Liam says sleepily, though it is no promise he can keep. Zayn lets go of the feeling, allowing Liam to look at him for a moment before he is snuggling his face into Liam’s chest.

“I wasn’t there when my parents died,” Zayn whispers against his skin. There is an ache in his chest, one that has not faded though it has been so long he barely remembers them. “I don’t get why I dream of it.”

Liam doesn’t respond, and Zayn doesn’t need him to. Everyone knows the story, but Liam is the only one he talks about it with. Because Liam just _listens,_ without apologizing for his loss and making him feel like he is being pitied for being an orphan.

“Maybe the person who uh, the one that killed them could plant memories into people’s head. I heard that’s something people can do.”

Liam’s chin knocks against the top of his head as his arm curls around his waist to pull him closer.“I thought it was an accident, the fire?”

Zayn sighs, pulling back some so he can rest his head on the pillow and look at Liam, though his body feels too cold the moment they are no longer touching. “Malay doesn’t think so.”

He was too young to remember the articles that had gone around after their deaths, he doesn’t remember moving from his home and into Malay’s. He wouldn’t even remember what his parents looked like if it weren’t for the internet, having searched the moment Malay told him that they had died in a fire when he was four.

The articles said it was an accident, while they were in the lab late one night. But none of them had mentioned what they were working on that could have caused it, only mentioned the last magical item they had created being bought by Inis Correctional to stop the inmates from being able to use their powers.

He had asked Malay what they were working on, and he said nothing dangerous. Reading over notes that he had sent them, that was all. Nothing that would have caused a fire as angry as that.

“Why does he say that?” Liam asks quietly.

Zayn only shrugs, feeling his throat tighten again. Liam’s face softens even more, though it feels impossible, before he is curling an arm back around him to pull him closer. He can feel Liam’s heartbeat against his chest, and he lets his eyes close so he can focus on that for comfort.

“Do you ever have nightmares?”

Liam nods, fingers brushing through the hair at the back of his head. “Yeah, used to have them a lot when I was younger.”

“Of what?”

There is a long moment before Liam finally answers, the words whispered so quietly that Zayn has to strain his ears to hear them.

“Of being burned.”

 

When Zayn wakes, he snuggles his face into Liam’s pillow, soaking in the scent of his cologne for a moment before he realizes Liam is no longer in bed with him. He frowns, rolling over and getting Niall instead.

He sits on his bed, his hands out in front of him and fingers spread. Between them is his breakfast plate, which hovers over his lap. He stares at it with a look of complete focus on his face before he grabs it into his hands and then looks up at Zayn to give him a proud grin.

“Wicked,” Niall says more to himself than anything.

“Try it on your fork, the laziest form of eating,” Zayn mumbles as he shifts up from Liam’s bed. Niall’s face lights up as he points at him.

“Good idea, mate. One problem, I’m not very good at moving stuff yet in any other direction besides up. Like I _can_ , but it usually ends up flying across the room at some point.”

Zayn chuckles as the door opens, and in steps a wet Liam. Droplets of water slip down his skin, causing a small amount of smoke to wisp off of his skin as his eyes find him.

“Mornin’,” Liam mumbles, dragging a hand through his hair before he turns to his closet. Zayn eyes his back, the muscles rippling across them and the few freckles that cover his skin. His eyes slide down his spine, to where a towel he is pretty sure is his own, rests low on his hips. His scars wrap around to his back, four thin lines across his skin that have always reminded him of finger marks.

“I hate you guys,” Niall mumbles, shifting up from his own bed with his plate in his hands. “You’re overcooking my food, Liam, chill out.”

“Sorry,” Zayn hears Liam mumble, knowing his cheeks are burning red as Niall narrows his eyes at him. He sighs, shifting up from the bed and plucking a biscuit from Niall’s plate.

“Leave him alone,” Zayn warns without malice. Niall is one of his best mates, and he knows Niall isn’t trying to be harmful towards Liam, but it is something Liam feels really guilty about. And the need to be defend Liam is like a habit he can’t, and doesn’t want to, break. “Or I’ll ask Griff to make it downpour on your birthday.”

Niall only frowns before he turns and heads out the door, grumbling something that sounds a lot like _fuck off_ under his breath.

Liam gives him a lopsided grin over his shoulder the moment Niall slips out of the room, his eyes bright before he turns back into his closet. “Did you sleep better?”

Zayn ticks his fingers against his thigh awkwardly. “Yes.”

They had stopped talking after Liam said he had nightmares of being burned, though there had been a thousand questions on his tongue. He doesn’t know where his scars came from, but there is no denying he was burned. They are large, covering one half of his abdomen and side, and streaking across his back. He has never talked about them, never acknowledged the fact that they are even there.

And it had been at the front of Zayn’s mind until he finally fell asleep after Liam’s soft snores filled the room.

“I have a meeting with Headmaster Ho before class,” Liam tells him, pulling out one of his uniform button up shirts from the closet. “We are going to search for the _core_ of my power. Again.”

Zayn grimaces, remembering how frustrating it had been when he had first done that. And Liam has less patience, always getting frustrated when it comes to his power. “Just remember to relax and focus, yeah?”

Liam nods, pulling on his shirt as more steam billows from the water droplets crawling down his skin. “I know.”

+*

There is a ball of frustration in his chest that just makes him feel hotter. Every word passing Malay’s lips aggravates him, and he digs his fingers into the wooden part of the chair to try and ease the pressure building across his skin.

“Liam,” Malay says patiently. “Relax. Just breathe, no need to get frustrated.”

Liam wants to roll his eyes, but he doesn’t. “It isn’t that easy.”

“It is,” Malay tells him, head cocking to the side. “You’re putting a lot of pressure on yourself. Your insecurities are making this harder than it has to be. The more frustrated you become, the more you lose focus, the hotter you become.”

Liam lets out a quiet laugh, eyes flicking up at Malay as hurt rattles through his chest at his words. He is insecure, always feeling incompetent but that is because people always make him feel like he is. He doesn’t need Malay to remind him, thanks.

“Okay, I’ll just get over them.”

Malay smiles softly, unaffected by the sharp of Liam’s words. “Fine, think of something that always makes you heat up. Close your eyes, and think of that, the feeling of the burn across your skin. Focus on where it comes from and then focus on making it go away.”

Liam frowns before he does as Malay asks, closing his eyes. His mind wanders for a moment before settling on golden brown eyes, the perfect slope of his nose, his tongue that never seems to be able to stay put in his mouth and it always drags a fire down Liam’s spine.

His gentle touch, the way he is more concerned about Liam than anyone Liam has ever cared for. His thick eyelashes, and the beard that has been growing thicker since the summer and Liam just wants to brush his mouth over his jaw to feel the tickle of the coarse hair against his lips. The brightness that takes over his face whenever he laughs out this addictive giggle, that makes him look brighter than any flame.

It burns, a little above his navel before it drags through the rest of him. He hears Malay gasp quietly, but he focuses on Zayn’s face planted to the back of his eyelids. He smiles softly to himself, as his chest fills with a fondness that is stronger than the arousal curling under his navel. He is so affected by the other lad it makes him laugh sometimes.

“Okay, Liam,” Malay says firmly, making Liam open his eyes. His face has darkened with heat, and a drop of sweat slips from his hairline. “Where did you feel it?”

“Um,” Liam says, feeling a flare of embarrassment as he points to the middle of his stomach. He isn’t sure if that is where it starts or if thinking about Zayn just made him aroused again -

Malay doesn’t laugh though, but nods and wipes at the sweat on the back of his neck. “You weren’t feeling bad emotions? Anger, hurt?”

“No,” Liam says easily, shifting in his seat. He places his hands in his lap, feeling that fondness squeezing his chest like it is trying to knock the breath away from him, like looking at Zayn always does.

“Love,” Malay says quietly, grinning at him and then frowning when Liam feels a rush of heat leave his skin. “Use that to make it go away. That’s what grounds you.”

“I don’t know how to do that,” Liam mumbles. “If love makes me hot -”

“Focus on that emotion, Liam,” Malay interrupts. “While containing the heat inside of you, where you indicated. You need to learn not to let your emotions flare you up.”

He sucks in a breath, focusing on how cold Zayn’s fingertips are and it works enough to drop the temperature a bit more so than doing what Malay asks him to do. He does try though, to keep the heat settled above his navel but he can’t keep it from trailing across his skin and settling around his bones.

“That is your solar plexus,” Malay goes on, turning back in his seat to the large bookshelf that sits behind his desk. “Which, I should have expected.”

He pulls a book out, a thin paperback with at least a dozen sticky notes popping out of the sides. “It is the third chapter, read it. And next time we meet tell me what you think that means for you.”

Liam takes the book, flipping through it until he finds the third chapter. He only grazes his eyes over it, picking up words like _self acceptance_ and _personal control_ that makes a sinking feeling wash away that warm feeling he had felt a moment ago.

“Okay,” Liam mutters, shifting up from the chair.

“Oh and Liam,” Malay says, holding up his finger before digging in the drawer beside him and pulling out an envelope. “You’ve received another letter from your father, do you want me to throw this one away too?”

Liam stills before he can get to the door. “Yeah, burn it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think? [tumblr](http://zipplekink.tumblr.com) and [twitter](http://twitter.com/zippiekink) if you need it. Thank you for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The source of the quotes in the first scene is [here](http://www.chakra-anatomy.com/solar-plexus-chakra.html). Thank you so much for the chapter one feedback! I hope you enjoy this chapter =)

“ _ Every time you judge or criticize yourself, you deplete this chakra and weaken your willpower, _ ” Liam reads out loud from the book settled into his lap.

Zayn doesn’t mean to laugh, but the way Liam looks up and glares at him in disgust after he reads it has a laugh bubbling in his chest. “Sorry just - Liam, your face.”

Liam grins slightly. “I’m screwed, dude. Listen, ‘ _ the main challenge for the third chakra is to use your personal power in a balanced manner. _ ’ I think Malay gave me this shit to be funny.”

Zayn lets out another chuckle, shaking his head. They are sat outside the library, Liam’s back pressed to a tree and Zayn’s fingers plucking through the blades of grass around him as the sun beats down on them. “No, it is to help you. It’s true, yeah? You are too hard on yourself babe.”

“Well,” Liam grumbles petulantly. “Maybe I need better instructions then just “don’t be hard on yourself, Liam’.”

“I know,” Zayn says softly, wanting to comment on how Liam isn’t growing hot right now despite his frustration and the sadness Zayn can feel from him, but he doesn’t want to accidentally cause him to flare up either if he loses focus on whatever is keeping him grounded. “How did he get you to find it? The source of your power?”

Liam glances up at him again, fingers fidgeting across the paper. They hadn’t been outside long before he had loosened his tie and unbuttoned his shirt, this time down past his chest. He eyes the skin, making sure it doesn’t redden more so than normal. “Breathing and focusing and stuff.”

He is lying, but Zayn doesn’t ask anymore questions, only crawls across the grass to sit beside him. He takes the book, flipping to the first chapter. He remembers when he had found his source of power, thinking about Liam’s warm eyes and the nerves that bubble in his belly when he thought about telling him how he feels. He craves to know what Liam had thought about, if it was good or bad, but he doesn’t want to push if Liam doesn’t want to talk about it.

“This one is mine.”

“You need to feel safe and secure,” Liam reads before turning to grin up at him. “That is why you disappear every time you stumble over your words.”

Zayn elbows him gently.  _ You make me stumble over my words,  _  he wants to admit but he just presses his lips tightly together for a moment. “I don’t really believe in this stuff.”

Liam shrugs, closing the small book. “I dunno yet. It seems pretty spot on. You even said.”

“Where is it? The third one?”

Liam slides his fingers over his belly, between his chest and navel. Zayn grins, pushing his fingers underneath Liam’s as he looks at the other lad. “Here?”

Liam nods, eyes searching his face and Zayn thinks too much about the small distance between their mouths, distracted by Liam’s teeth chattering against full bottom lip and the way his fingers tickle over his knuckles. 

“Mine’s at the bottom of my spine,” Zayn says softly, feeling the heat underneath his fingertips warm through him. “Though one book of Malay’s said it was at my balls.”

Liam blurts out a laugh, face going red. “Seriously?”

“Yeah,” Zayn giggles, pulling his hand away before he gives in and slides his lips over Liam’s like he wants to and ruins his friendship with him. “I told Malay that was conflicting information.”

“A bit,” Liam chuckles back. “Can you imagine, ‘Mr. Malik, please focus on that sensation you feel in your balls.’”

Zayn barks out a laugh, covering his face as his body shakes from the force of it. “Shut up. Having the sex talk with him was worse enough, I never want to hear him mention private parts ever again.”

Liam laughs. “Me mum cried when we had our talk. She said sex and the tears just came out, it was embarrassing.”

“I was invisible the whole time,” Zayn adds as he remembers how Malay’s eyes had darted all over the place with a frustrated look on his face. In hindsight, he reckons the sex talk was just as embarrassing for him. “One of the first times I did it.”

Liam smiles at him softly, closing the book before he scooches down the tree further. “Me too. She mentioned my dad not being around, you know how he should have been giving me the sex talk or whatever, and she had this brick of cheese she was cutting up on the table and it melted.”

Zayn feels the smile slip off of his lips before he tucks his head into the crook of his arm, bringing his legs up to rest on his knees so Liam won’t see his frown. He doesn’t mention his father much, but the flicker of sadness in his eyes when he does is enough to make Zayn never want to bring it up unless Liam wants to. “How old were you?”

“Thirteen.”

Zayn parts his lips to tell him he was too when the sky falls suddenly dark. He glances up at the black clouds, and Liam is gripping his arm to pull him up a second before the rain comes pouring down onto them. 

Liam puts his bag over Zayn’s head as they run into the back entrance of the library, the lights flickering off as the sky flashes with lightning. He is drenched after only a moment, and Liam worse than him. His white shirt is completely see through, clinging to his torso and his dress shoots make a squishing noise with every step. 

“Where is Griff?” Zayn gasps as Liam drags his hands through his hair to shake out the rain drops. 

“What?” Liam yells over an angry, loud shatter through the sky. 

Zayn shakes his head, circling his fingers around Liam’s wrist to pull him back to the glass door that they had came through. Their dorm isn’t too far away, but the rain comes down heavy and there is barely any time between the rumbles of thunder, so loud it sparks a bit of fear through him and making him hesitant to step a foot outside. 

“I’m not going back out in that,” Liam says, moving to the side as people come rushing through the door, soaked just as badly as them. The people already in the library look alarmed, eyes on the glass window panes surrounding the whole building. “What if Griff creates a tornado?”

Zayn laughs at that, though the amusement is drowned out by a spark of fear as the sky lights up. “I don’t think Griff can do that.”

“You never know,” Liam insists, the same spark of fear in his eyes. “It feels really bad. Can you feel that?”

“He wouldn’t  _ want  _ to do that, Li,” he tries to assure him. Griff was one of the first in their year to gain full control of their power. And the worst thing he has ever done with it was cause a huge snow storm during the winter two years ago when he hadn’t wanted to go to class. “But what do you mean? Feel what?”

Lightning fills the sky, blindingly bright and so close Zayn feels his heart stop in his chest from the fear that floods through him. Liam clutches onto him, pulling him into his chest and away from the window as the shot of lightning hits the tree they were sitting against. 

The strangled sound Liam lets out pounds against his ears, drowning out the screams that fill the library. Zayn rips around from where he watches the dark clouds seep away, focusing on how white Liam’s face has become, at the tremor running through his body and the way his heart flutters so quickly in his chest. 

“Li,” Zayn says softly, folding his palm over Liam’s cheek. Panic floods through him seeing the other lad like this, a fear in his eyes that he has never seen before. It takes everything in him not to show it the way his stomach is twisting at the fear he can feel under his fingertips. “What is it?”

“I’m,” Liam shutters out, shaking his head as he steps back away from him. He lets out another strangled sound, like he is choking on the words he wants to say. “I don’t,  _ fuck _ , Zayn, I don’t like fire.”

“Let's go then,” Zayn says immediately, reaching out to slide his fingers through Liam’s. He is desperate to get that petrified look off of Liam’s face, to rid the sharp breaths that pass his lips. They aren’t close enough to the fire for it to be a danger, and it stays contained to the tree as one of the fire controllers, Majid, stands a few feet away from it with his hands directing the flames. But Liam flinches at the touch as if the flames were tickling against his hand instead of Zayn’s fingers. 

When they get through the front door, the sky is clear blue, barely any clouds in the sky and only the scent of the rain lingers under the burning smell of the tree. He steps through the puddles, uncaring about whether or not they dirty their shoes or the people running towards the library. He spots Malay at one point, phone clenched to his ear, leading what Ned has always referred to as the  _ Water Squad _ with a tad of distaste around the words.

“I’m okay,” Liam huffs out behind him. He still doesn’t look it, though his breathing has slowed some, the color hasn’t returned to his face. And Zayn is trying not to be alarmed by the fact that Liam’s hand is  _ cold _ . The only time Liam has ever felt cold before was when he had ice on his skin, but it only lasted a handful of seconds before he burned like normal again.

“You are,” Zayn assures, rubbing his thumb over Liam’s knuckles. “Let's get you inside, okay? But breathe. Focus on breathing properly.”

Liam nods, following after him while squeezing his fingers tight like he is afraid Zayn is going to let go. Zayn squeezes back, silently assuring him that he won’t.

When they get inside their dorm, Zayn lets go of Liam’s hand to cup his cheeks. There is some warmth to his skin, but not enough. He rubs his thumbs against his drying skin, trying to warm him up but it doesn’t seem to work. 

“Liam, you need to calm down your heart is going erratic,” Zayn whispers gently. Liam looks up at him, nodding as he swallows thickly.

“So is yours.”

Zayn sighs, inhaling for a long moment before exhaling. Liam follows suit, cupping his hands over Zayn’s before pulling them off and falling to the floor.

He tucks his face into his arms, propped up on his knees as he curls into himself. Zayn eases his fingers over his ear, brushing through the wet hair behind it until the bracket of Liam’s shoulders slow and he can feel the warmth return back to Liam’s skin.

There are a million questions in his head, but he keeps them quiet as he falls in front of Liam. He hates the tears glossing his eyes, the way they look swollen and he sniffs before he stands up, fingers reaching for the buttons of his soaked shirt. “I’ll be right back. We have class in a few minutes. Maybe I’ll um, warm up with these off.”

Zayn bites on his bottom lip, nodding as he watches Liam pad away from him and to his room. He doesn’t want to leave Liam alone until he calms completely, but he doesn’t want to bother him if he needs to be alone either. 

He pulls out his phone instead, dialing Griff’s number. It only rings for a moment before he answers.

“Where are you?” Zayn asks, clutching the phone to his ear. “Are you okay?”

“I’m almost at the dorm,” Griff says, voice winded like he is moving quickly. “Like in one second. And I’m fine, I just -”

The front door opens then, and Griff walks in, a troubled look on his face. He is dry, not a drop of water on him. 

“What happened?” Zayn asks immediately, hanging up the phone as he walks over to him. He needs to change as he feels uncomfortable with the soaked uniform shirt clinging to his skin, and the squish in his boots. But he considers skipping class just to stay in the dorm and comfort Griff and Liam.  

“I dunno,” Griff says, words a bit rushed as he drops his backpack onto the chair. “It wasn’t me though, and I know Headmaster Ho isn’t going to believe me.  _ Shit _ , dude.”

Zayn stares at him, feeling his face crumple together in confusion. It isn’t a special courses day, so the Professor that Griff works with, who too can manipulate the weather, is off of campus for the day. “You’re the only one though -”

“I  _ know _ ,” Griff interrupts in frustration, sliding his palms over his temples. “I have control over it though, and I know it wasn’t me. I was just studying maths, and all of a sudden the sky went dark.”

He can’t stop staring at him, confusion making his head hurt. “A tree caught on fire.”

“I saw the smoke,” Griff sighs, rubbing his eyebrows with his forefinger and thumb. “And the Squad running to it to put it out. Malay is going to be here any second, I reckon.”

A knock at the door sounds then, causing Griff’s whole body to go tense before he shuffles over to open it.

It is Malay, who only glances at Zayn with a stressed look on his face before he is cupping Griff’s elbow and asking him to step outside. All Zayn can hear is a quiet, “I hope you’re okay” before the door shuts.

Zayn cusses quietly before going off to find Liam. He finds him in his bedroom, his wet clothes exchanged for a pair of gray joggers and a maroon sweater that Zayn thinks might be his own. He lays flat on his bed, eyes closed and brows stressed. He tentatively walks over and sits on the edge. When Liam doesn’t tell him go to away, he hesitantly places his palm to his shoulder.

“You okay?” He whispers, rubbing gently over the soft material of the sweater he wears. He turns, cheek against his pillow to look at him. 

“Yes,” Liam says softly. His skin has returned to being hot, very hot and Zayn doesn’t understand why he continues to wear the sweater. 

“Do you think you should skip class?” Zayn suggests, ticking his fingers underneath the material to drag his cool fingers across his burning skin. “I can tell your professor what happened. I’m sure they'll understand. Who do you have next?”

Liam shakes his head, eyes falling shut. “I’m okay, really.”

Zayn doesn’t believe him, but he lets it go, rubbing at Liam’s back until his breathing slows and the other lad falls asleep. 

+*

The air blowing through the window is cold, landing right on Liam’s skin. He doesn’t mind though, and the heat radiating off of him seems to mediate the temperature in the room. Though Griff, who is sat beside him, stretches his collar a bit and shifts like it might be uncomfortable for him. It makes him feel bad, but he can’t help it.

He can’t help but feel like flames are licking all over his skin, the scars across his abdomen irritated. He doesn’t know what made it so terrifying this time. He has been around fire before while camping or at his Auntie’s, and though it made him nervous, and afraid to go near it, it never made him feel as if there were a fist in his chest squeezing at his heart and trying to keep all oxygen from his lungs.

There was just something about the way the air changed, that pulse of power that constantly covers the campus turning into something sour, uncomfortable. He felt it the moment the sky changed, dragging a fear through him that he has never felt before. And all he wanted to do was get Zayn out of there. 

“Before you leave, please sign up for which essay you will write, due at the end of the semester. And please read the first three chapters in your textbook for our next class, on behavioral genetics, biopsychological theory and the evolutionary theory of power, please.”

Professor Styles points a finger to all of them, a smile on his lips that breaks the stern expression on his face. 

Liam sighs, shifting his books from the desk and into his arms before he stands. Griff waits for him, throwing his bag over his shoulder before they leave. “Three chapters, in two days. Each chapter is like forty pages long.”

Liam nods grimly. That is a bit of an exaggeration, but he is dreading it either way. “I know.”

Griff huffs out an annoyed sigh, shaking his head. “And I’m already behind because of everything that happened yesterday. I didn’t finish my studying because of it,  _ and  _ I didn’t get to the library to finish my reading for Green’s class.”

“The storm?” Liam offers, grimacing slightly as a wave of heat washes off of him. 

Griff reacts, but it is obvious he is trying not to as he scrunches his face in concentration. “Yeah. The Headmaster can’t figure out who caused it. I’m just thankful he believed me when I said I didn’t do it.”

They walk through the hallways, through the crowds of other students. There aren’t too many in each year, but it feels like it when their core classes are all in the same building and on the same day. Special courses are every other day, courses tuned to individual abilities, session with Professors and mentors for unique powers like Griff goes to, or sessions with the Headmaster like Liam and Zayn go to. Those with water abilities meet up in the pool house, and those with fire in a building behind it called the steel room. The nature kids meet together by the collection of Greenhouses, and Liam doesn’t even know where the Air kids go but it is always extra windy on campus during special courses day. 

On those days people are spread out, not crammed into a building going to psychological theory, history, maths or any other class that makes him feel like he is at a regular school and not an academy designed for those with superhuman abilities.

“That’s good,” Liam tells him, though Griff hasn’t seemed any less stressed about it since he came back to the dorm, late the night before. Pacing around his room with Scout, his fidgety hands constantly pulling his dreads up into a knot before letting them hang free again, fumbling over apologies every time Liam came to check on him, though the storm wasn’t his fault. “Though if it were an accident, I’m sure he would understand, you know?”

“I guess,” Griff says as he pushes open the door to Professor Green’s classroom. “Nialler said it was the storm that made you seem off last night, I’m -”

“The fire,” Liam interrupts him before he can apologize, voice dropping as his eyes run over Jade even though he knows Jade could hear him if she wanted to. “There is no reason for you to apologize.”

“Right,” Griff mumbles, eyes falling to Liam’s side. “I don’t know what happened but you know if you ever need an ear, I got you bro.”

Liam grins tiredly, clapping him on the shoulder as his eyes find Zayn’s. “Thanks man.”

Zayn’s eyes follow him as he makes his way to his seat, a worried set to his brow. He has avoided talking to him today, only because he knows Zayn is going to fret over him and he is trying not to think about it. Even if he has been really failing at it. “How are you feeling?”

Liam only shrugs, and Zayn presses his lips together like he isn’t satisfied with this response. He reaches over, tickling his fingers under Liam’s palm. “Distract yourself. Think about something else. Something that makes you happy, yeah?”

His eyelashes flutter against his cheekbones as he blinks, his tongue coming out to flick against the corner of his mouth like a habit. His eyes shine in a way that feels impossibly bright, and Liam just wants to cup his cheeks and drag their lips to meet. 

“I will,” Liam says as Professor Green comes into the room. And he does, thinking about his lips across Zayn’s skin, which doesn’t help the temperature in the room but it eases the ache in his chest. 

+*

Zayn peeks his head into the office door, smiling softly at Lou who is sat at the desk on the other side of the wall. There are papers spread out on her desk that she glances at, stacked up into neat piles but she mostly focuses on the computer in front of her, finger twirling through her light purple colored hair.

“Hey,” Zayn greets, nodding his head towards Malay’s door to the right. There is a gold plate across the middle of it, reading ‘James Ryan Ho’ in big, bold letters. “Is Malay here?”

“No,” Lou says, glancing at the fancy watch wrapped around her wrist that twinkles with the light bulbs over them. Full spectrum light bulbs, that make the room feel as if the sun has been captured inside. “But he should be any minute if you want to wait for him in his office. He went back home for something.”

“Thanks,” Zayn murmurs, watching the bulb of the flower on her desk open when she touches the base of it, revealing soft pink petals. 

Malay’s office is small, just a desk with a massive bookshelf behind it and a chair on both sides of his desk, the lights not as bright as the room outside. It is normally neat, but today his desk is covered with papers and folders, scattered around like he had been looking at a bunch at one time. 

Zayn tip toes to the other side of the desk, glancing at the closed door before he scans over the papers curiously. There is an article in the center printed with an old photo of a school on the front, the title reading  _ 12 Dead After Fire at Thurmaston DayCare.  _ Zayn frowns as an uneasy feeling that swirls through him. When he opens it, there is another picture of the eery looking school, but with it’s right side nearly missing. 

Beside it is the front of another old newspaper, reading  _ Tornado and Hail Storms Hits Thurmaston, 17 Dead So Far  _ in bold black letters at the top _.  _ There are pictures of destroyed buildings and roads with trees scattered across them, but he doesn’t read the article, instead pushes it over to read the headline on the paper underneath. 

_ Homes Evacuated After Three Day Rainfall Causes River Soar Flooding _

Zayn scrunches his brows together as his mind starts to race, eyes darting over the  _ June 1999 _ in the corner of all three articles. Beside them, there are other folders spread out, and a stack of envelopes on top of one that Zayn can’t snoop through as he hears Malay’s voice speaking to Lou.

He scrambles to the other side of the desk, seating himself in the chair there as the doorknob jiggles. The Headmaster looks exhausted when he steps inside, bags under his eyes and his feet dragging as he makes his way over to his chair. Zayn knows he wouldn’t let anyone else see him like this, the slump in his shoulders as he shuffles the news articles to one side. He always tries to portray a calm and cool expression, but with Zayn he lets it go. 

“Do you know how old I am?” is what he greets him with.

“Um,” Zayn hums, grimacing slightly. Malay hasn’t even told him his birthday, unwilling to celebrate another year of immortality. A blessing and a curse, he has always mumbled out when Zayn has asked him. “Like two hundred?” 

Malay grins enough that it lights up in his eyes as he shakes his head. “A hundred and thirty seven.”

“I would have stopped counting, to be honest.”

Malay laughs, taking the stack of folders and placing them in one of his desk drawers. “My magic print should just be a clump of dirt that’s how old I am.”

“Magic print?” Zayn repeats, brows stitching together. He knows he has heard of it before, but he can’t place a finger on where. 

Malay links his fingers together where his hands rest in front of him on his desk. “It isn’t common. Something that happens to very powerful people when they are using their powers. It is like a mark is left behind, taking on different shapes and latching onto different objects in the room. Your mother was studying what the substance was before she died, but it fades in only a few hours which had made it difficult for her to do.”

Zayn nods as he takes this in, teeth grazing over his bottom lip. He has books and books of his parents’ work, and there is a whole room at Malay’s dedicated to items they had created or at least  _ tried  _ to. Some of them don’t do anything but Malay says he can feel the pulse of power left behind in them. Zayn has never fully read their books, his mind wandering to them being gone the moment he starts to. “Oh.”

Malay rests back in hisc hair, dragging his palms over the top of his head. No one would ever guess he was any older than forty, though right now he does look quite old with the bags under his eyes and the ghost of wrinkles taking over his face. “Do you remember going on vacation with Professor Styles and his family when you were younger?”

Zayn shrugs. He kind of remembers it, when he looks at the pictures taken of his son, Harry, and him that Malay has in a photo album of him. He remembers the ugly pattern of the hotel blankets and the sparkle in the water from the California sun, but not much other than that. “Barely.”

“You were maybe five or six, I think.  I was called for help to a village in Leicestershire, so I asked that you go to the States with them on Holiday,” Malay explains, his thumbs tapping against his temples like he does sometimes when he is remembering something. “And stepping foot into that town, you could feel the power present. Pulsing through the air, it was strong.”

Malay sighs, waving his fingers in the air. “I can feel it here, that same feeling. Not as strong, but still present.”

Zayn shifts, glancing around like he is looking for what Malay is indicating. He hasn’t felt anything different, other than the thump of Liam’s heart against his own skin that he is still trying to decide whether or not he should mention to anyone. Malay would be the best person to talk to about it, but his tongue feels too thick in his mouth every time he considers it. “Well, there  _ is  _ a lot of power here -”

“No, no,” Malay interrupts, a distracted look on his face. He reaches for the newspapers he had moved into his desk drawer, and lays them back flat against the table. “It is  _ different _ . Your mum used to tell everyone I had a sixth sense for strong power, and she was onto something. I can feel it. I felt it with her, with you - but this one is different. It has a bad energy. One I will never be able to forget.”

He hands Zayn the article regarding the storms. “It went on for days before the flooding started. But the man responsible for it cannot be here. He is at Inis Correctional. Heavily, heavily guarded. He can’t even use his power, let alone cause distruction from a distance like this.”

Zayn darts his eyes across the words, looking for a name but finding none other than the villagers that had been interviewed. It makes that uneasy feeling in his stomach worsen. Even though it is just print, he can feel the pain twisted through the words of the woman interviewed who had lost her son. “Who was it?”

“It isn’t important. It cannot be him, I have it confirmed that he is still on Inis but I want you to keep your eyes out for anything out of the ordinary. Anyone,” Malay goes on before he narrows his eyes. “And don’t tell anyone please. Not even Liam. I don’t want to raise alarm.”

Zayn nods, gripping his bottom lip between his teeth as alarm runs through him. Not telling Liam something like this is going to be difficult, since Liam always seems to know when he is preoccupied with his thoughts. “Okay.”

Malay sighs, his features dragging with the exhaustion on his face. “I’m sorry for putting this on you, I wouldn’t if I didn’t think you could handle it. I just need you to be on your toes. What did you come here to talk to me about?”

Zayn parts his lips a few times, giving him a jerky shrug. “Oh, just that Griff told me he didn’t cause the storm. And I wanted to make sure you believed him.”

Malay nods his head, a grim look on his face. “I never thought it was him.”

“And um,” Zayn starts, relieved at that. Though for a moment, he wished it had been Griff who caused the lightning as he glances back at the newspaper headlines. “Liam almost had a panic attack, um, because of the fire. That is why he skipped his classes. I don’t want him getting in trouble, I told him to skip.”

Malay’s face only grows grimmer then as his eyes dart away, a distracted look in his eyes. “He won’t, don’t worry. Is he alright?”

Zayn frowns, eyes dropping to where he rubs his fingers over his legs in order to comfort himself. “I don’t know.”

Malay reaches over the table, nodding his head at Zayn until Zayn sighs and grabs the hand he holds out for him. “Are you alright, son?”

Zayn jerks one shoulder up. “I always feel off when Liam isn’t okay.”

He excuses himself then, though he has a long list of questions running through his mind. He does this sometimes, the Headmaster, sharing things with him he probably shouldn’t. He pretends not to be scared because he wants Malay to keep telling him stuff like this, but there is a chatter in his belly that makes him crave a warm touch to ease it.

He drags his feet through the hallways, the headlines in the front of his mind and the fact that Malay felt the same power in both places. He doesn’t know what it means, or exactly why Malay is scared - especially if he thinks the person responsible for all those deaths couldn’t be here. The Academy is well protected, he has always said. Assured, really. 

He doesn’t see Liam around campus so he heads to the dorms. All of their roommates have class or work other than Liam and him, having a free block after Professor Green’s class. And Liam usually hates being alone in the dorm, but the moment he steps through the door he feels the heat. 

It is a different kind of hot, like a thick steam filling the room. The walls are damp, drops of condensation dripping down them and the windows fogged. He frowns, walking farther into the dorm until he sees the light peeking out of the bathroom.

Steam billows out from underneath it, and he can hear the sound of the shower through the door. There is something about the heat that feels different, an emotion he can’t place, hasn’t felt before, and he frowns, wondering why Liam is taking a hot shower when he should be taking a cool one to ease the heat that has clung to him all day. 

He goes to step away when he hears a soft moan under the sound of the shower running. He stills, eyes falling wide as his belly twists at a choked sound Liam lets out a breath later.

“Oh god,” Zayn breathes, fingers pressing into the door in response to the arousal that pours through him. His head floods with images of Liam with a hand around himself, those lips parted and bruised from his teeth digging into the lower one like he always does. He feels consumed by the heat billowing from the door, worsening the arousal that makes his dick twitch underneath his uniform pants. The different feel of the heat can’t be anything else other than arousal, not with the way he chants out these moans that build in volume the same way the beat of his heart builds against Zayn’s skin.

He considers staying there when Liam lets out another rough moan, and being the creep he already feels like but he falls invisible, stepping away from the door instead.

The last sound he hears isn’t too loud, but he can still hear it as he walks away. A choked, huffs out sound that tells him Liam just found his release.

Zayn practically trips over his feet as he makes his way into his room, cupping himself between his legs to ease the pressure building between them. His chest rises and falls heavily, as he thinks about his tongue on Liam’s skin as he makes that sound, his fingers tugging through his hair to bring their lips together as Zayn’s fingers curl around him.

“Fuck,” Zayn murmurs, letting his eyes fall shut. He has always wanted Liam, to touch Liam and have Liam touch him. Thinking about it turns him on so easily it is like flicking on a light switch really, flooding his mind thoughts of Liam’s big hands on his skin, heating him up in a way only he can. He wonders what it would feel like, this heat twisted in arousal, if it were radiating off Liam when their bodies move together.

The way Liam’s heat always floods through him is comforting, but like this. Fuck. It feels like it is touching every part of him, sparking every nerve and Liam isn’t even in the same room as him. He overwhelms himself thinking about their bodies tangled together, pressed as close as possible with Liam’s hands pressed against his shoulders, dicking slowly into him.  

Zayn groans quietly, wondering if it is weird or not, the way his dick leaks out against his briefs while thinking about his best mate stroking off. It shouldn’t be weird, since Zayn’s heart beats for Liam in a way that isn’t anything like a best mate should feel. But he hasn’t told the other lad yet.

Zayn’s heart skips in his chest as he groans again, pushing out that thought for more thoughts of Liam’s mouth hot on his skin. He grips the buckle of his belt with tight fingers, contemplating whether or not he has enough time to ease the pressure between his legs before Liam gets out of the shower. 

The question is answered for him when he hears the bathroom door open, making him fall still with his fingers pushing under the lip of his dress pants. There is a long moment of silence before Liam calls his name and Zayn pokes his head out of the door. He hadn’t even  _ closed  _ it.

His joggers lay loose on his hips, wet hair curling where it has fallen in front of his forehead and this dark flush covering his skin. He cups the back of his neck, making a nervous look before he starts walking towards Zayn down the hallway, the heat tinted with embarrassment now. 

“Zayn? I know you’re in here. What’s wrong?”

Zayn grimaces to himself, sinking back into the room. “Nothin’,” he calls, hoping his voice sounds more shaky to him than it does to Liam. “Just had a meeting with Malay.”

Liam pushes open the cracked door before leaning against the door frame, eyes searching for him. “Why are you hiding?”

Zayn steps in front of him, admiring the flush in his cheeks and the swell of his bottom lip and the teeth marks left behind. He smells like his bath gel, a strong cologne lingering on his skin. He knows Liam can sense him, though he doesn’t understand how.

There is an ache in his fingertips to touch him and he gives into it, sliding his fingers over his cheeks. Liam doesn’t jump, but his eyes lift to find him. The spark between them makes Zayn want to press against him, to soak in the feeling radiating off Liam until he can feel it everywhere again. 

“Just scary stuff,” Zayn whispers. It feels impossible not to press their lips together, not to press his body up against Liam’s. He tickles his fingers across his beard before slipping down to stroke his thumb over his pulse. 

“Want to talk about it?” Liam murmurs, his breath hitching as Zayn drags his thumb over his Adam’s Apple. There is something dark in his eyes that makes his belly twist, the urge to press their lips together worsening. 

Zayn bites hard on his bottom lip, reaching his hand back up to stroke his thumb over Liam’s the teeth marks imprinted on his bottom lip. The sound of Liam’s heartbeat fills his ears, a steady beat of  _ go on, go on _ . “No.”

He pulls his hand away as Liam’s face crumples together, his arms crossing over his chest. Zayn really needs him to leave so he can get a hand around himself, because a chant of Liam’s moans echo through the front of his mind and his briefs feel too tight with the way his prick stretches the material. 

“Alright well, if you need me er - I’ll be in my room.”

Zayn sighs quietly in frustration at that, wishing he could tell Liam just how badly he needs him - in more ways than one, but even hiding under his invisibility doesn’t give him enough confidence to do so. 

When Liam leaves, he rests his forehead against the closed door, trying to think of gross things to will away his hardening prick. It doesn’t work, his mind always rushing back to Liam’s parted lips, eyes fluttering shut as come prickles against his belly.

Zayn slips his hand past his jeans, gripping himself through his briefs. His hips roll automatically into his touch, and he bites his lip hard to quiet the sound rumbling in his throat as he moves away from the door. Liam’s hand is bigger than his own, would probably feel better moving down his length -

There is a knock at his door that makes Zayn rip his hand away from himself despite the fact he is still invisible and hidden behind a closed door. 

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he hears Liam call through it, voice hesitant and worried. 

Zayn sucks in a long breath before he glances down. He falls visible again, eyeing between his legs to make sure the strain against his uniform pants isn’t too obvious. He can’t be sure. He tucks his fist into his pocket, embarrassment flooding him at how wet he always gets when he is aroused and how he can feel it on his fingertips. 

“I’m fine,” Zayn insists as he opens the door. Liam’s brows don’t relax any. “How are you?”

“Um,” Liam tries, one of his shoulders jerking up into a shrug. His features jump around, his eyebrows lifting and relaxing, lips tugging down before pressing together. “A lot better, yeah.”

Zayn feels his face grow hot at that. “Oh. Good. Yeah, good.”

“Yeah,” Liam responds, shifting onto one foot as he shoves a hand into his pocket. 

Zayn nods. “Yeah.”

He grimaces at himself as Liam looks at him before nodding again and walking back down the hallway. It is the most awkward moment of his life, he swears, and the embarrassment alone is enough to make him lose interest in touching himself. 

+*

It continues to be awkward, leaving a thick tension in the air that Zayn hates more than anything. Everyone seems to notice it, their roommates’ eyes dodging between Zayn and Liam, who is sat on the couch with a textbook opened in his lap and radiating heat. 

Ned’s lips are pressed tightly together, his face practically purple with the force of laughter that he is holding back despite the glares Zayn keeps sending his way. Niall’s face is flushed for awhile before he grumbles something under his breath and leaves the room while wiggling his sweat soaked shirt off. Griff just looks confused, and aggravated every time Ned blurts out a choked sound that distracts him from the textbooks laid out in front of him and Scout. 

Zayn sighs, glancing back at Liam who clearly isn’t reading though his eyes are focused on the book in his lap. He pushes up from where he sits, ignoring Ned’s eyes before he sits beside Liam.

Liam looks up at him, an awkward smile on his lips. He sits so their hips are touching, and their shoulders bump each other. It is unnecessarily close, but it  _ feels _ necessary. He hates the tension between them, hates the fact that Liam is probably confused about why Zayn is acting so weird around him, making him hesitant to approach him first. 

Unless he isn’t confused, just embarrassed if he thinks Zayn heard him stroking off. It is the only thing that would make Ned look like he is going to have a heart attack from holding in his laughter, Zayn thinks. 

“What are you reading?” Zayn asks.

“Uh,” Liam says, the space between his brows wrinkling from the way they scrunch together. “It’s theories on like why our powers relate to something about us. Um, personality theories I think.”

Zayn nods, a grin tugging at his lips at the way Liam’s lips pout out. “Does it talk about theories on where are powers come from?”

Liam shrugs, teeth nudging at his bottom lip as a shy look takes over his features, his eyes going wide with guilt. “I um, well I haven’t really been reading.”

He smiles at that, feeling a bit of the tension between them seeping away. Easily, thankfully. But he shouldn’t be surprised, because it is  _ alway _ s easy with Liam.

“The Hidden Queen and The Man of Ignis is one of my favorite theories,” Zayn explains. “Styles probably won’t teach it to you ‘cause he isn’t a big fan of mythology, just hard cold science, but it mentions it in this book if I remember correctly.”

“Who are they?” Liam asks, as he lets Zayn take the textbook from him. He had read it once when he was younger, hiding away in the massive library in Malay’s house. He took the Mythology course offered here because of it, though he had thought it would be more of an important topic in the class than it reallywas. 

He finds it, the Hidden Queen and the Man of Ignis, and traces his finger over the words before he hands it back to Liam though it only mentions them briefly “He saved a town, warmed up the people basically. It was winter time and people were freezing to death, yeah? He could manipulate heat, and I’ve read some stories that say he can do other things as well, but it is always heat manipulation that is consistent from story to story.”

Liam’s face lights up as he takes the textbook, staring down at the name with a look in his eyes Zayn can’t read. But it feels like admiration.

“Why did you never tell me about it?”

Zayn shrugs, not wanting to tell Liam that the legend also says the reason the Man of Ignis was brought to the Hidden Queen is because he had burned down half the village after being told he was a monster for what he could do.

“Thanks,” Liam murmurs, looking up at him. He licks over his bottom lip, one that still is just as swollen as it was earlier when he had stepped out of the bathroom. “Malay has never been able to find me a mentor, so it’s like - yeah, cool someone like me is a legend.”

Zayn bites at his smile. “ _ Legend _ ,” he stresses. “Like, him and the Hidden Queen are told to be the ones who created us, people with superhuman abilities like ours. There was no one like them at the time. They got together, and yeah, we came about.”

“Wicked,” Liam breathes. “I’ll have to look them up, if I ever have time with the amount of reading Styles has assigned.”

He chuckles, bringing his knees up to his chest. “And how often I’m going to make you practice with me.”

Liam quirks up a brow, pinching Zayn’s thigh. “That, I won’t mind.”

Zayn quirks up a brow in disbelief, chin tilting down. “You sure? You hate meditation.”

Liam shrugs easily, looking back down in his lap. “Yeah, but I like being with you regardless of what we are doing.”

Zayn presses his lips tightly together as not to let the smile in his chest take over his lips too. Liam doesn’t seem to notice as he slides the book off of his lap to reach for the remote on the table, though the television flickering on causes complaints from Griff and Scout. 

+*

The morning has gone by maddeningly slow ever since Liam’s mother had called to tell him she was on her way to meet with Malay. He dreaded it all morning, and the tension that sits heavy in the office makes him wish he could hide away like Zayn or Scout can, or be like that one kid whose name Liam can never remember but he can absorb through walls and inanimate objects. That is a useful power, unlike his which just makes the whole situation worse. 

“Mrs. Payne, I do apologize, but I have quite a lot on my plate at the moment,” Malay starts, a calm look on his face as he indicates the large stack of papers covering his desk. There is no kindness in his eyes, and it is an odd look on the old man.

Karen glares at him, making Liam tense even more where he sits beside his mother, across from Malay. He isn’t even sure why she wanted him here, since he is not going to be on her side at all. He can't help but heat up the room, though he thinks his mother’s glare causes more discomfort than the temperature. 

“This is serious, Malay,” Karen snaps, her voice shrill. It makes him flinch, reminding him of how often he had to hear that high pitched voice when he first started manipulating the heat around him. “I want my son in a new dorm.”

Malay sighs, looking at Liam. “I have no place to put him, Mrs. Payne. We are full up everywhere.”

It is a lie, there are plenty of people who have rooms to themselves, and Liam presses his lips tightly together to keep himself from smiling at that.

“And your fears about your son being in danger because of his roommates is unfounded, Mrs. Payne. If I felt any of my students to be a danger, it would be a top priority of mine. However, I do not.”

His mother lets out an offended laugh. “The Malik boy -”

“Was raised by me,” Malay reminds her, firmly, no longer hiding the irritation on his face. It makes the look in his eyes even more out of place on him. “And even if he wasn’t, the Maliks were kind people. You were friends with Patricia, I am sure you remember. Your only friend until you met Geoff, if  _ I  _ remember correctly.”

Liam looks at his mother then. He hadn’t known that. She has barely spoke about her time at the Academy, and has only mentioned it being where she had met his father. She acts as if superpowers don’t even exist half of the time. He isn’t even sure what her’s is.

Karen doesn’t say anything though, lips pressed tightly together as she continues to stare at the Headmaster. 

“And,” Malay continues, giving Liam an apologetic look and the kindness has returned to his eyes for a moment before he looks back at his mother. “No offense, but Zayn isn’t the one with a violent parent. I have stood up for your son while other Professors have cast doubt, Karen -”

Liam’s heart sinks in his chest, eyes dropping to where he nudges his feet together. He knew there was a reason the other Professors didn’t like him, but he never thought it would be because of his father. It makes  _ sense _ , it just makes him feel like he is being punched in the chest too. 

Karen makes an offended noise as she grabs her purse. Her face is as red as his own feels, her eyes narrowed angrily at the Headmaster. “I have the mind to pull Liam right out of the Academy.”

Liam stands quickly, gripping the chair as panic rushes through him. She can’t possibly do that, or he will never learn how to control his power. So he can prove those Professors wrong and not end up like Geoff. 

Malay sighs patiently again. “That would certainly not be in Liam’s best interests. We are approving here, a lot. If it eases your mind, I will look into seeing if I can switch Liam into another dorm.”

“Headmaster,” Liam blurts. “You can’t -”

Malay only holds up his hand, quieting him instantly. “But for right now, he remains where he is. If you are really concerned about your son’s well being, I would tell his father to stop writing him. That causes more damage than him being around his best friends, I’d say.”

Liam grimaces, sinking back into the chair across from Malay. He hasn’t told his mother that, yet, unsure of how to bring it up. Her eyes widen in alarm as she glances at Liam, and he can only nod in response. He feels on edge, close to falling off of it and he tries to focus on Zayn to ground him like Malay had taught him, but it doesn’t work. 

“He just wants to know you,” she tries, her voice soft with desperation.

Liam snorts loudly, rolling his eyes at that. He is thankful that Malay speaks for him, since half the time the Headmaster seems to be more upset about his father trying to contact him than he does. 

“He doesn’t really have the right, Karen.”

“He is Liam’s  _ father _ -”

Liam stands then, tipping off the edge as he tugs his shirt out of where it is tucked into his dress pants roughly. He pulls it up high, showing the scars covering his abdomen that makes his mother flinch every time she sees them. He shouldn't do it, he knows, but the fact that his mother stands up for his father hurts worse than thinking about what his father did to him.

“He ruined any chance of knowing me.”

Malay stands up quickly then as the heat flares across the room, reaching for Liam as he comes around the desk. He places a palm to his chest. “Cool yourself down,” he whispers before turning to Karen.

“I’m going to ask you to leave, Mrs. Payne. We are really progressing here and I would like to help Liam control his emotions, not make him more emotional.”

There are tears in her eyes, lips shaking some as she pads over to touch Liam’s hot cheek. “He is just.  _ Liam _ -”

Liam shakes his head, fingers curling around her wrist to pull her hand away. “Zayn isn’t dangerous, mum. He helps me calm down, is helping me to control my power so I don’t end up like my father.”

Karen grimaces. “Don’t believe everything you hear about him, honey.”

Liam doesn’t respond as he lets go of her wrist. She presses a soft kiss to his cheek, sniffling before she rushes out of the room.

Liam lets out a shaky breath, his throat feeling tight as tears threaten to push out past his eyelids. Malay rubs his back some, and he imagines the cold fingertips he craves to feel at the moment to help him cool down. It doesn’t ease the sob vibrating in his chest, though. The hate he feels for his mother in that moment makes guilt rush through him, and all of it mixes in his chest like a bad thunderstorm.

“Your mother is in denial,” the Headmaster says softly as he encourages Liam to sit again. “She always has been, even when your father stood in front of the court and admitted his guilt. She was frantic, talking about how he didn’t know what he was saying.”

Liam nods, swallowing down his tears before they can appear. He used to go to his Auntie’s while his father’s trial was going on. He remembers her clearly, though it has been years and years since he has last seen her. She had made him cookies and read him stories about people with superhuman abilities who saved cities and the people in them. “I just don’t get like,  _ why _ .”

Malay pads back to his side of the desk to sit down. “If she accepted it, she would have to admit to marrying a man that violent. She is not at fault for that, she couldn’t have known. But I think she rather be in denial than feel that kind of guilt.”

Liam drops his eyes, watching his fingers rub against the wooden arm of the chair. It has never made sense to him, the light way she would speak about his father. She rarely did, because it would always upset Liam, but when she did, it used to make his stomach turn.

“You know something I’ve never told you, Mr. Payne,” Malay goes on. “It was me, the Healers called when you were brought to them. Not your mother.”

Liam shifts uncomfortably, his heart clenching tightly in his chest, but he doesn’t ask the Headmaster to stop talking. He knows what his father was charged with, but he has refused to let himself ask anymore questions than that. That was enough to spark a hatred in him for the other man. He is afraid of what knowing the details would make him feel. 

“You didn’t know anything that happened. You couldn’t tell me who brought you to the infirmary, you couldn’t tell me who burned you or how you got so far away from home. It was your mother, who knew. Though she hadn’t even known you were gone from your house.”

Liam bites hard on his bottom lip as Malay gives him a soft look. He doesn’t know what to make of what he is saying, because he doesn’t remember it. His mother always said he was too young to remember, only four when it happened. He hasn’t asked for any other detail than that, not wanting his mind to fabricate a memory for him to replay over and over again in his mind. 

“As soon as we told her what happened, that we had you, she knew it was him. I think that is the only time she realized how violent he really was. She moved you out of your house and in with your Aunt Rose, and then filed for divorce.”

Liam swallows, looking up at the ceiling in hopes that the tears will fade away and not slip down his cheeks. It couldn’t have been the moment she had realized how violent he was, since there are finger shaped burns covering her body too, but she keeps them covered enough that the Headmaster might not know about them. “Did she really?”

He looks at Malay then as the Headmaster nods, a grim look covering his face. “She does care for you, I'm afraid she is just - well, I don't really know, son. All I know is she begged for the Healers to keep trying to heal you when they couldn’t rid the scars completely. That doesn’t make up for anything, I know.”

Liam nods, eyes falling closed. He doesn’t remember his father burning him but he remembers the metal chains around his arms, the guardians in their steel suits tugging him out of their home. He remembers his mother’s cries, and the relief that had flooded through him because he was so happy that the guardians came to take him away from their home.

Liam frowns, rememebering the living room he had hidden himself in when his father had screamed at him to go when the guardians came. There had been a couch with chevron patterned pillows, a wide set of windows covered in plants that means it couldn’t have been his home he had been in. 

“Even if they were gone,” Malay says hesitantly, pulling Liam away from his thoughts. “Some scars can’t be seen. I don’t think she realizes that, either.”

A loud knock on the door sounds then, making Liam rub at his eyes. Malay doesn’t tell them to come in before the door is pushing open.

Zayn steps in, eyes wide with alarm. His face flushes some as he grimaces apologetically, his fingers ticking against the start of his pockets. “Sorry to er, interrupt.”

Malay smiles, wiggling his fingers to indicate that Zayn can step in. The kindness rushes back into his eyes almost immediately, brightening them up. “How can I help you?”

Zayn glances at Liam, eyes worried. He reaches forward, tickling his fingers over the back of Liam’s neck. It is overwhelming, how quickly a comfort surges through him. “I felt that something was really wrong um, and I came looking for you. Er, to make sure you’re okay.”

“Really?” Malay responds, his brows raising high towards his hairline. “You felt it?”

A coolness rushes off of Zayn as he nods, but he doesn’t look away from Liam. Liam is thankful for it, really. He was tired of the conversation before it even started. “Are you okay?”

Liam nods, glancing at Malay who keeps looking at Zayn with a pensive look on his face. “Is it um, is it okay if I go early today? And we can talk about the chakras next time?”

“Of course, Liam. Relax, yeah? And don’t worry about your mother’s request, I’m not looking into it.”

Liam smiles gratefully as he pushes up from the chair. Zayn doesn’t hesitate to tickle his fingers over his palm until they are nudging between his fingers, waving over his shoulder with his other hand as he blurts another apology.

“What was your mom’s request?” he asks quietly as they step out of Malay’s office.

Liam shakes his head, waving to Lou who sits at her desk, stroking the plant that sits in front of her. “Doesn’t matter.”

This doesn’t seem to be a good enough of answer for Zayn, who stops him the moment they step into the hallway to face him. He tickles a finger across Liam’s cheek before flattening his palm against it. “You know I’m not going to push you into talking about something you don’t want to talk about, Liam. But the pain I felt from you, babe - I just want to help keep you from ever feeling it again.”

Liam cups his hand over Zayn’s, nuzzling his cheek into his palm. He doesn’t understand how Zayn could feel his pain, but it doesn’t matter. It probably has something to do with how powerful he probably is, living up to his parents’ legacy just like everyone knows he will.

“You always keep me from feeling it,” Liam whispers quietly, making Zayn’s lips quirk up some. His words are loaded with every feeling he has for the other man, and he wishes he could find the right words to explainjust how well Zayn can keep all of the bad feelings away.

“Do I?” Zayn asks, eyes searching his face. 

Liam nods, letting out a soft exhale as he cups Zayn’s cheek too. He feels consumed by the pulse between them, like a steady heart beat that he can’t be sure comes from himself or Zayn. Zayn’s eyes drop down to his lips, an invitation he thinks, unless he is reading the situation wrong, of course. 

“Are you just saying that?” Zayn asks under his breath as Liam shifts his thumb over the corner of Zayn’s mouth. His tongue flicks out in response, nearly touching the tip of his nail. 

“I wouldn’t lie about that,” Liam promises. His heart seems to be loud in his ears, his eyes focusing on the swell of Zayn’s bottom lip. 

“Payno!”

Zayn’s hand drops away as Scout appears in the hallway, falling invisible immediately. Liam feels his cheeks grow hot, chest heavying as Zayn’s touch completely disappears. 

“How was your meeting with the Headmaster?” Scout shifts the football they have in their hands to their hip as they stand in front of him, waiting for a response. 

“Oh, erm,” Liam says, shrugging. 

Scout lets out a dreaded noise. “I’m meeting with him next, we are going to see if I can imitate animal hearing and shit. Do you reckon he is in a bad mood? ‘Cause he was last time, and listen, I’m not here for it.”

Liam only shrugs as he feels Zayn slide his hand against his back. “I dunno. Seems alright.”

Scout grins, patting him hard on the shoulder. They freeze for a moment, reaching out blindly to grab onto Zayn’s shoulder. 

Zayn appears then as Scout crumples their face at him. “What are you hiding for? 

When Zayn doesn’t respond, Scout grimaces though their eyes are bright with amusement as they flick back and forth between Zayn and Liam. “You know what? I don’t want to know.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song mentioned in this fic is Small Talk by Majid Jordan (10/10 recommend go listen to it!!) I'm going out of state this upcoming weekend and on the day I normally post (Monday). So I'll either post Chapter Four Saturday or Tuesday.
> 
> Thank you for reading!! Let me know what you think? ^_^

It is early in the morning, the sun just starting to rise over the horizon to flood into their room, leaking in through the curtains. It illuminates Liam’s face, still heavy with sleep, but a soft smile takes over his lips as he watches Zayn. His eyes brighter than the glow of sunlight across his skin.

“Shh,” Liam whispers from where he lays on his bed, fingers tickling absentmindedly over his bare belly.

Zayn presses his lips closed tightly, holding back his laughter as he drags the red marker across Niall’s cheek. He is sound asleep, lips parted around his heavy breaths and his brows only scrunching for a moment when the end of the marker presses against his skin.

“Add a little party hat,” Scout suggests from where they stand against the wall, blending in so only their eyes and hair are visible.

Zayn draws a fluffy ball at the top of the hat before moving to the cake on his forehead to add the candles. His face is covered in party themed drawings, cakes and stars, festive hats and candles. There is a large 20 on his right cheek that Scout had scribbled, before getting nervous that they would wake Niall up and handing the marker off to Zayn.

“He is going to murder you,” Liam chuckles, rolling over onto his belly and hiding his laughter in the crook of his arm.

“You only turn twenty once,” Zayn reminds him as he pulls back to admire his work. His body is covered in confetti and stuffed animals wearing shirts with Happy Birthday printed on them, and there is an even larger twenty drawn at the center of his bare chest.

“Have to make it memorable,” Scout continues, giggling quietly.

Zayn steps back towards where Liam’s music player sits, hitting play on the birthday tune waiting for him on the screen of his phone after making sure the volume is all the way up.

It is loud, but not enough to drag Niall from his sleep. It takes a long time actually, of Niall shifting across the mattress and scrunching his face together before he starts to wake.

“Happy Birthday!” Zayn and Scout scream in unison before blowing the party horns they hold. Niall jolts up, his features crumpling together and his fists going right to his eyes.

Liam pretends to wake up too, and it is awfully adorable just how badly he does it. Niall looks at him first, as both Scout and Zayn stay hidden from sight.

Liam laughs as he presses his cheek back to the pillow. “Look at the floating horn, mate.”

Niall searches around the room before he glares in Zayn’s direction. “Oi! Fuck -”

Scout throws their arms out, a bag of confetti in their hands that scatter over Niall’s hair and sweater. He scrambles off the bed, fingers shaking through his hair as confetti continues to fly around him.

“You suck,” Niall laughs, jogging out of the room. “The lot of you! Wait until you're visible, Zed! You too Scout! I’m going to trash your jewelry! And steal all of your colored pencils, Malik!”

“You'll love me tonight!” Zayn calls backs, blowing the horn a second time as Scout yells, “don’t touch my shit!”

Niall's head pops back into the doorway, eyes suspicious as they narrow at him.

Liam chuckles at the silence that follows, blurting out the surprise before Zayn can. “The Irish pub in the village, tonight. Zayn got the keys to the gate.”

Niall's eyes go wide in excitement as he stumbles towards Zayn with his arms out, the sleep seeping away from his face quickly. “Let me see you so I can hug you, ya fucker.”

 

The Irish pub is attached to a long line of other shops and pubs on the main strip in the village, a short distance from the campus entrance. It is busy outside, and Zayn can't help but eye the people that pass by the window beside their booth. He recognizes some of the people who live around the village, but since he stole Malay’s keys to get past the front gate, he ducks and hides every time someone he knows passes by.

“Where's Harry?” Liam asks Niall loudly over the music playing around them. He had traveled down here with them, but he had disappeared after only a few minutes of them sitting down in one of the booths.

Niall shrugs, face beet red as he takes a chug of lager from his glass mug. There is still a shadow of drawings on his face, though he had tried to scrub it off before they had left. “Probably out feeding the raccoon leftovers. One of them has a hard time getting into the trash can, little legs or summat.”

“What?” Ned barks beside him, an incredulous look on his face with amusement wobbling around the edges of his eyes.

Niall plops his drink down. “They're friends or summat.”

They all stare at the other lad until he waves his hand at them, his voice defensive in this oddly cute way that makes Zayn’s lips quirk up. “He has this thing with nature alright? Can talk to animals and plants and shit. It's cute.”

“It's what?” Liam teases, knocking his elbow against Zayn’s.

Niall stills for a moment, lips parted wide open as his brows push together in confusion. “It's cool, I said. Can you imagine like? It’s just wicked, I dunno.”

“If you have feelings for him, it's okay to admit them, you know,” Zayn teases along, wiggling his brows at his best mate. He has caught them sneaking outside of their dorm before, Harry with Niall pushed up against the brick wall and a shocking color of red had blossomed across Niall’s cheeks as Zayn tried to cover his lips before a laugh could bubble out. He failed, miserably, and it resulted in Niall’s grumbles and threats to tell Liam how Zayn felt about him.

Niall just takes another chug of his beer before wiping his mouth. “Not drunk enough for that,” he jokes at the same time Ned across from him says, “ironic coming from you.”

Zayn kicks him in the shin before glancing at Liam like a habit, but the other lad doesn't seem to have heard the comment.

“Drunk enough for what?” Harry says as he pops in front of their table. He slides into the booth, knocking Niall into Ned. He licks his thumb before wiping it across the faded 20 on his cheek.

Last year his hair had been long, tickling over his shoulders, but now it is short and swooped back at the top of his head though he still runs his fingers through it the way he used to, to get the hair out of his eyes. He wears a practically see through shirt, with a thin scarf hanging around his neck. Zayn and him had been inseparable when they were younger, running around campus during classes. Chasing rabbits and sneaking around the hallways, until their first year of different dorms and different classes led to them slowly growing apart.

But Zayn likes Harry, having him around, and though he teases Niall, he finds the two of them adorable. (Though saying so out loud would probably cause Niall to ‘accidentally’ fly a large object at his head.)

Niall's face brightens instantly, a warm grin taking over his lips though his nose wrinkles at the touch. “To talk to your raccoon with you. Bit scared to go near it, t’be honest.”

Harry shakes his head. “He's miserable tonight. No good food in the bin out back so I'm going to sneak him some chips.”

Niall's face grows fond as he turns more to face Harry, making Ned frown as his back pushes into him. “Do raccoons eat meat? We can get him some chicken -”

“You know Harry,” Ned pipes in, pushing back against Niall as he fights off the annoyed look on his face, “I think Nialler here needs some shots for his birthday.”

Harry nods, the same goofy grin appearing on his lips that Niall wears. “Yeah alright.”

Zayn watches on as Harry’s fingers link with Niall’s, who doesn't seem to notice anyone but the other lad as he follows after him towards the bar.

Liam tucks his chin down towards Zayn, his words quiet under the music that vibrates through the room. “They're cute yeah?”

Zayn grins, tapping his fingers against the cold glass mug he holds to fight off the urge to drag them across Liam’s cheeks and tell him that he is the cute one. “Yeah, they are.”

“Oh for Christs sake,” Ned groans, pulling Zayn’s attention away from Liam. His eyes are narrowed at Liam, and the heat radiates off of him almost instantly. “I need Griff. I need a shot, I need something. Liam your thoughts are killing me.”

“Stop listening then,” Zayn calls after him as Ned scooches off of the seat.

Ned huffs out a laugh as he curls his fingers around the collar of his colorful patterned shirt before shaking the material to cool down his chest. “I wish I could. _Trust_.”

Liam shifts awkwardly in his seat, an embarrassed smile on his lips. The dim light above them is enough for him to see the glow in Liam’s eyes, and the slight pink that takes over his cheeks. “He says I scream my thoughts but I dunno, seems regular to me.”

Zayn presses closer to Liam despite there being plenty of room on the booth, and ignoring how painfully obvious he is when his boot pushes into Liam’s. It is dangerous, the alcohol twisting through his system and mixing with the constant need Zayn has to tell the other lad how he is feeling. Whether verbal or through the pads of his fingertips he traces over the round of Liam’s knee. “What are you screaming about then?”

Liam's face grows redder as he drops his eyes down and drags his thumb over the rough material of the jean material on the inside Zayn’s knee, mimicing the dance of Zayn’s fingers. “Nothin’.”

Zayn frowns, sliding his fingers over the back of Liam’s burning hand. “You can tell me.”

Liam shakes his head, the corner of his mouth quirking up into a grin that doesn’t seem happy. It isn’t sad either, but the glow in his eyes dim. “Maybe after a few shots I can.”

Zayn rolls his eyes, letting Liam link their fingers before dragging him off of their booth. “So that is what I have to do to get stuff out of you?”

Liam barks out a laugh, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he curls an arm around Zayn’s shoulders to tug him into his side. The possessive press of Liam’s forearm against his skin makes his heart leap in his chest, setting off a flurry of butterflies in his stomach. “Nah. Just some things.”

Zayn snorts, shifting his palm over Liam’s belly as he tucks his face closer to Liam’s neck. “Like?”

Laughter flickers against the corners of Liam’s lips before he looks at him. “I really do think Ned is annoying.”

Zayn wrinkles his nose. “I already knew that.”

 

An hour later, Zayn is pushing the third shot offered to him away. He is only a little tipsy but he feels hotter than Liam can get, his face burning and flames licking in his chest because of the way Liam’s fingers keep sliding against his back.

Liam stands between where Zayn and Griff sit at the bar, fidgeting with the buttons of his shirt with his other hand. He has undone two so far, revealing the pink skin underneath and the smatter of hair there. Zayn is consumed with thoughts of his mouth there, and he tries not to fidget too much because of it before he falls off of the bar stool he sits on.

“No more?” Griff asks before taking the shot offered to him himself. He grins as he claps the glass back to the counter. “It's rare we get to go out. You can afford to let loose some, bro.”

“I am loose,” Zayn says in defense. His lips tug up at the laughter that vibrates around him after his words, and he can’t help but glance at Liam, knowing his eyes are crinkled shut in this adorable way.

“Did you notice there is like four more locks on the gate?” Ned interrupts, shifting towards them from where he sits besides Griff.

“Doesn't make any sense,” Scout says to Zayn, knocking their elbow against his for attention. “What if someone can melt metal? Or like, I dunno, break or unlock stuff with their mind. Blow things up like Blast can?”

The serious worried look on their face makes Zayn blurt out a laugh, and he apologizes when that look turns from worried to offended. “Malay says it is safe though, no need to worry.”

Scout looks doubtful as they sip at their drink. They tip their chin to indicate Zayn. “But look how easily you took his keys.”

Zayn only grimaces guiltily, unable to deny that. But he knows Malay’s passcodes, it isn’t _his_ fault he never changes them. “Well.”

Scout chuckles, clapping him softly on the back of the neck. “I'm fucking with you, I doubt anyone wants to bother with a bunch of college kids anyway.”

It only makes Zayn grimace more as he remembers Malay’s grim face after the storm. There has been no sign of anything unusual since then, but it hasn't relaxed Malay’s constantly stressed expression any.

“I'm sure,” Zayn mumbles, pushing back into Liam’s touch as his fingers trail down to the low of his spine, setting off sparks across his skin. But they pull away then and the comfort of his touch seems to seep away.

Over his shoulder he sees Liam turned away from them, his hands placed on the shoulder of an unfamiliar woman as he listens to whatever she is saying. Zayn frowns, a spark of jealousy rushing through him that causes him to shift uncomfortably in his seat. He tries not to be obvious, not to glance over his shoulder too many times and cause the smirk on Scout’s lips to grow any larger, but he fails.

“Oh, I'm sorry,” he hears Liam saying as he turns around. His hand plants back to Zayn’s spine, startling him. The lie is clear in his voice, probably noticeable even to the stranger. “I was just about to dance with him actually, but -”

Zayn stiffens, his heart skipping a beat in his chest as his mind turns over what Liam just said. Liam taps his thumb against his back, a silent plea for help.

He turns, hoping the confusion on his face isn't obvious as he takes in the woman. She is beautiful, with eyes the color of caramel and the roundest cutest cheeks. Her inky black hair is streaked with light green, and pulled into a neat bun at the top of her head. The dress she wears clings tightly to the round of her hips, a little dressy for the bar they are in but it is still nice, and there is a misshaped, gray stone necklace hanging between her collarbones.

Liam hasn’t really dated anyone while at the Academy, though he had spent a lot of time with this one girl he had shared some of his sessions with Malay last year. She had been beautiful, quite similar to the woman in front of them and Zayn doesn’t understand why he doesn’t want to dance with her.

“Right,” Zayn manages, grimacing to himself. “Sorry I got caught up in talking. Let’s um, yeah, dance now.”

The girl smiles at them, her eyes on Zayn before glancing down at his chest. There is something in her eyes that makes him feel vulnerable, like he is standing naked in a large crowd of people. “No worries, maybe next time Liam.”

Liam nods, not moving as she turns around and walks away. When she is gone he finally turns to him, shrugging at Zayn’s confused expression.

“Sorry um, is that like? You just popped in my head first so -”

“Yeah,” Zayn chuckles, feeling a blush take over his cheeks. _Of course it is okay_ , he thinks, as thoughts of how awkward his dancing is try to flood through his head and convince him not to go through with it. “But why didn't you want to dance with her?”

Liam shrugs, teeth dragging over his bottom lip. He wants to say something, Zayn can tell by the spark in his eyes, but he doesn't. He only links his fingers with Zayn’s. “Come on. We have to dance now or I'm a liar.”

Zayn glances at Griff and Ned, who both wear these grins that make Zayn want to hide in the crowd on the dance floor while invisible and under a blanket.

“I don't dance much,” Liam shouts over the music as he takes Zayn’s other hand and backs into the crowd of unfamiliar faces.

“Me neither,” Zayn tells him quietly, voice not loud enough to be heard over the _I don’t want to rush, but I got things to say_ that comes from the big speakers surrounding the stage at the other end room.

He sucks in a breath when Liam pulls him close, their chests only a centimeter apart. His eyes dodge around the crowd but Zayn can only scan his eyes over Liam’s features. It feels like there is nothing else around him, just Liam.

There is a steady thump over the music, filling his ears and washing over his skin as Liam’s hand slides to the bottom of his spine. Zayn focuses on it rather than his touch, feeling his heart trying to match the pace. It makes his chest feel like it is expanding as he grazes his palms over Liam’s hard chest.

_If you would take this chance, then I’ll take it too -_

“Zed,” Liam says, ducking his head close to say the words against his ear. His breath tickles his skin, and Zayn’s fingers dig into Liam’s shoulders to pull him closer like a reflex. “Can I tell you something?”

Zayn drags his teeth across his bottom lip. People are probably watching them, wondering why they are standing in a crowd of moving bodies while theirs’ remain still. The sober people at least.

“Yeah,” Zayn breathes, turning his head to face Liam but the flutter in his belly worsens from the small space between their lips. He can't help but look at Liam’s, though it is a mistake as he feels a chill itch at his lower spine. _I have these thoughts I keep, I wanna share with you_ echoes loudly around them and Zayn wants to tell Liam how true the lyrics are for him. He wants to tell Liam those thoughts, trace them against the roof of his mouth with the tip of his tongue.

He swallows, mentally wishing the feeling away so he doesn't disappear in front of all these people, in front of Liam. He doesn’t know how Liam hasn’t caught on yet, to the fact that Zayn always turns invisible around him because of how he _feels_ for him. He wishes he could make it stop, because he hates the concern that always takes over Liam’s face when he disappears. Like he did something _wrong_.

But Zayn isn’t sure how to tell him that he disappears because everything about Liam is _right_ to him.

“She smelled like fire and rain,” Liam finally says, eyes darting away from him again to search the crowd around them. “And I feel like I knew her somehow.”

Zayn frowns, pushing his palm up to tickle his fingers over his throat. His heartbeat matches the pulse around Zayn, threatening to consume him.

“How?”

Liam looks back at him, a worried look on his face that Zayn wish a kiss could wash away and not make worse. “I dunno.”

“I don't recognize her from the school,” Zayn goes on. “Or at all, actually.”

Liam shakes his head then, a smile taking over his lips. “I guess it doesn't matter. Let's dance, yeah?”

Zayn swallows as he nods, that cool air blossoming at the bottom of his spine as Liam starts to move his stiff body. It is incredibly awkward at first, until Liam links their fingers and twirls him around.

Liam turns him so Zayn’s back is facing him, and though they aren't touching he can feel the heat burning between them. His thumb drags over Zayn’s knuckles before he rests them against his belly, pulling their bodies closer together.

“Okay?” Liam asks in his ear, his hips moving just slightly against him. Not enough that he can savor the hard press of Liam’s body against his own like he wants to.

“Yeah,” Zayn breathes, pushing back against him.

Liam’s lips move against his ear for a moment before he speaks again. “I reckon I’m drunk enough to tell you now.”

He doesn’t have time to say anything before Liam is twirling him again and dragging him back so their chests knock against each other. There is something dark about his eyes as his hand cups the back of his neck hesitantly. It makes Zayn’s belly twist, a sharp breath passing his lips as that cool feeling rushes up his spine.

“Need a smoke,” Zayn blurts as he feels it breathe over his limbs. Liam's brows scrunch together, but his hands fall away a moment before Zayn disappears.

He cusses at himself with every step he takes to go outside, pinching his brows and nearly knocking into more than one person who doesn't see him. He wishes he could silence the band that feels like they are teasing him as they sing out ‘ _am I making a mistake_?’ He wants to know what is going through Liam’s mind but panic has him tripping over his own feet.

It felt like Liam was going to kiss him, as ridiculous as that is. It is probably just the small amount of alcohol in him making him feel that way, or just the feeling of being consumed by Liam making him want more, tricking his brain enough to let him think he could have more. And if he kissed Liam, it would just ruin Liam’s night and _fuck_.

Zayn groans as he lets go of his invisibility and steps outside into the cool night air. He is the most embarrassing person ever, he _swears_ by it.

Someone joins him as he brings the cigarette to his lips, and his eyes drag over the pretty girl from inside. Her eyes are bright, but there is an apologetic smile on her lips as she comes up to him.

“I’m sorry about trying to hit on your boyfriend,” she apologizes with a laugh. She offers a hand to the lighter in Zayn’s, and he places it into her palm.

“Um, he's not my boyfriend,” Zayn says, stumbling over his words. “I mean, it's okay.”

She grins at him as she hands back the lighter. He doesn't smell any fire or rain, or feel anything off about her at all. She can't be any older than them, maybe even a year younger. She wiggles a pointed finger at him, head cocking to the side.

“You sure? You guys make a cute couple.”

Zayn just nods, itching awkwardly at his neck and his eyebrows raising because he doesn't know what the hell to say to that. She doesn't seem to care that he doesn’t respond as she reaches forward again, fingers brushing over his necklace.

“Did he give you that?”

Zayn frowns, glancing down at the emerald that collects the lights around them. He can feel how cool her fingers are, though their skin doesn’t make contact. “Family heirloom.”

“It's beautiful,” she says, finally dropping her hand away. She drops her cigarette, though she has barely smoked half of it. “Well it was nice to meet you, Zayn. Have fun with your not boyfriend.”

Zayn mumbles out a goodnight, watching her walk off into the busy street. It isn't until she is gone from his sight that he realizes he never told her his name.

Zayn lets himself fall invisible again as he rests back against the building, not wanting the woman to see him again. He lets his cigarette burn out before he considers going in when the door pushes open and Niall and Harry stumble out.

“He's going to love you,” Harry mumbles into Niall’s hairline, unaware of how his elbow brushes against Zayn, a bit roughly. His accent is thick, words slurring out slower than normal. “His name is Ferrari.”

“Your raccoon?” Niall blurts out in laughter, high pitched sounding. His face matches the shade of a tomato, the force of his laughter making his face strain. “You named him Ferrari?”

“He named himself,” Harry says pointedly. “Don't make fun of it.”

Zayn grins as he watches them disappear around the side of the building. He shouldn't be hidden out here, knowing Liam is probably concerned just like he always gets when Zayn hides behind his power. And it is going to be soon that Liam comes out here looking for him.

Zayn looks for him instead, finding him as soon as he steps inside, eyes glancing back at the door over and over again from where him and Scout sit at the bar. His face relaxes some when Zayn walks towards him.

“Is he back?” He hears Scout say to Liam as they pushes a mug across the bar and towards him. There is one waiting for Zayn between them.

“Yeah, think so,” Liam mumbles, eyes searching for him before Zayn slides his hand over his thigh. “Yeah he's back?”

“Yeah,” Zayn breathes, ticking his fingers against the cold glass.

“What'd the Payno do to you to make you go runnin’?” Scout asks, not bothering to search for him.

“That's just how bad of a dancer I am,” Liam laughs but there is a shy softness to his features.

Zayn reaches up, stroking his thumb over Liam’s jaw. The other lad only glances in his direction as he drags it across his cheek, palm settling over his jaw.

Scout’s laughter makes him pull his hand away, but Liam’s eyes don't leave where he stands. “Why are you hiding from me?”

Zayn glances at Scout, whose face falls serious before they are sliding off of the bar stool. Zayn doesn’t move to it, wants to stay between Liam’s knees. He drags his palm over Liam’s chest, concentrating on the steady of Liam’s heartbeat.

“I don’t have a lot of courage.”

Liam frowns, placing his hand on Zayn’s hip. His fingers tap to the rhythm of Zayn’s heartbeat and for a moment, Zayn wonders if he can feel it like he can feel his. “Yeah, you do. You're the only person that will go into that creepy fucking building. That takes courage.”

Zayn smiles softly. He could be an awful person and Liam would still try to find something good about him. It is just how he is. “I have feelings for someone and I don’t know how to tell them. So I just don’t, and they eat me up.”

Liam stills then, hand falling away from him. He looks away from Zayn as he takes another sip of his drink. “Do you think they like you back?”

Zayn frowns, heart thudding painfully in his chest at the way Liam distances himself from him. “No, I don’t think so. That’s the problem.”

Liam glances at him, his lips turned down into a frown. “Then I guess you have to figure out if is worth telling them. That doesn't mean you don't have courage, though.”

Zayn hesitantly pushes between Liam’s thighs to rest his head against his chest. He is afraid Liam is going to push him away then, but he sinks into him when Liam fumbles to cup the back of his head. “This is why I don’t drink, I’m a sad drunk.”

Liam huffs out a laugh as Zayn returns to sight again, too aware of the fact Liam probably looks odd to strangers’ eyes hugging the air. “We should probably go then.”

Zayn nods, pulling away from him. He wishes he could just tell Liam every thought in his head, but his reaction to him liking someone had been so aversive his stomach twists and he just wants to pretend it never happened.

 

It had seemed like a short walk from the school to the pub, but the walk back seems to take forever. It has to be past midnight, and Zayn feels exhaustion weighing heavy on his shoulders. Ned and Niall are still seemingly wide awake, filling the air with their loud voices and shoving each other playfully here and there. Liam seems like he is too, no exhaustion in his features, though he drops behind everyone to walk with Zayn.

“I saw that girl again,” Zayn tells Liam as he slides his arm around his waist so he can rest his head against him. His feet drag over the ground, and they feel heavier than normal. “The pretty one.”

“That smells like fire?”

Zayn nods as Liam curls an arm around his shoulder, tugging him close.

“What'd she want?”

Zayn lets his eyes fall shut, focusing on his feet so he doesn't fall asleep mid walk. “To apologize for hitting on my boyfriend.”

Liam chuckles softly, his grip tightening around him. Around them is eerily quiet as their voices quiet when they get closer to school. There is nothing but the distant sound of crickets chirping here and there, a howl in the distance. It smells like it is going to rain, the air thick with moisture, but the night prevents him from seeing if there are dark clouds in the sky.

“And to compliment my necklace.”

“The one from your mom?”

Zayn nods again as he reaches up to touch it. It has been his only source of comfort for a long time, until he met Liam. It pulses under his fingertips when he touches it, like a small assurance of _yeah I got you_ , when he needs it.

“I never take it off.”

Liam chuckles quietly. “I know.”

When they get onto campus, Griff helps him close and lock the top locks that are too high for him to reach before handing him back the keys. “Gonna bring them back tonight?”

Zayn nods. Malay's house is close to the gate, while their dorm is on the other side of campus and he just wants to curl into his bed and sleep until the afternoon tomorrow. And he doesn’t want to take the chance of Malay looking for his keys before he can return them to where they belong.

“Good by yourself?” Ned asks, patting his cheek. He flicks his eyes up to Liam before sighing. “Course you're going with him.”

Liam's hand plants firmly to his back. “Just so you know, to make sure you get back safe.”

Ned snorts as he walks away. Scout’s face is serious as they walk by, patting Liam’s shoulder. “Good thinking, bro. Since it's so easy to break into campus.”

“If someone comes,” Liam tells him with a serious voice. “I’ll bake them to death.”

Scout shakes their head as they laugh. “I _know_ I can count on that.”

Malay's house is too big for just the two of them. There are plenty of vacant bedrooms set up as if they were waiting for someone to occupy them. Though not many people have visited for a long period over the time he has lived here, only a few guests every couple of years. And they never stay more than a few days at a time.

Zayn tiptoes up the wide set of stairs across from the entranceway with Liam a breath behind him. It is quiet and dark, so dark that he wouldn't think Malay was even home, since he always keeps at least one light on, if it weren't for his shoes kicked off by the doorway. There are three floors, with Zayn’s bedroom at the top. He had moved to it when he was fourteen, after a long time of trying to convince Malay that he didn't have to be in the bedroom right next to the Headmaster’s.

He was reluctant to let him go, constantly reminding him if he ever needed him to not hesitate to come knock on his bedroom door, and even once suggesting that he take the room next to him upstairs.

Liam's hand finds his waist in the dark as he steps off of the stairs. His breath loud in the quiet hallway. “You want me to wait for you to get back before I leave?”

Zayn bites his bottom lip before he opens his bedroom door. “Erm, you can stay if you want. So you don't have to walk alone on campus.”

The light from the window at the end of the hallway is enough for Zayn to see the flash of Liam’s teeth as he smiles. “Alright, I'll wait for you in your bedroom. If you’re sure.”

Zayn's heart leaps in his chest as he nods, wanting to plop a kiss to the corner of Liam’s lips but he just eases the keys from his pocket as a distraction. He is surprised Liam even came with him after earlier. He isn’t sure why Liam doesn’t want to hightail away from him after he hinted at his feelings for him.

“I got trackies in the bottom drawer if you want to change out of your jeans,” he suggests quietly. “Erm, be right back.”

The door to Malay’s study is still open like he had left it because it creaks loudly when moved, and he tip toes in while invisible, feeling as if Malay is an inch behind him every step he takes. He swears to himself he won't steal again, because he is so nervous about getting caught he feels as if he could be sick with the violent way his stomach twists with it.

He closes the door after placing the keys into Malay’s coded drawer, then stills, waiting for any sound from his guardian. After a long breath, he tiptoes back to the staircase.

“Zayn?”

He freezes when he gets about three steps up, turning visible again so Malay won't think there is an intruder. He is clad in his star covered pajamas, and one of his socks are missing.

“Sorry to wake you,” Zayn says carefully. “I just wanted to sleep here tonight.”

Malay rubs his eyes as Zayn walks back down the steps, away from the heat he can feel trailing down the staircase, praying the Headmaster doesn’t smell the liquor on his tongue.

“Nightmares again?” He asks softly, reaching out to press the back of his hand to Zayn’s forehead. “It is almost two in the morning.”

Zayn shakes his head. Malay was always calm when he woke up from his nightmares, but he never missed the stress that would take over his face when he thought Zayn wasn't looking.

“No, just.” Zayn shuffles on his feet, unable to find a lie to tell him. He feels guilty enough already. “Wanted to be here.”

Malay glances at the watch on his wrist before patting his cheek. “Go to sleep my boy, we have a meeting in the morning.”

Zayn rolls his eyes, but grins. “Alright, goodnight.”

In his bedroom he finds Liam standing in front of his bookshelf with the light on his nightstand filling the room, eyes searching the titles and crossing over the items stacked between his books. He doesn't seem to notice him at first, allowing Zayn to admire the light hitting the bare of his back and the way his gray joggers hang low on his hips.

“Some of those my dad wrote,” Zayn says as he steps inside, wrangling off his boots. Liam has been here before, always looking at his boring things like they are somewhat amazing.

“Have you read them?”

Zayn shakes his head as he kicks off one boot. “A lot of them are hard to understand. He has one on kinetic molecular theory, some cell regeneration. Another on neural impulse absorption and memory transferral. Heavily worded, you know. And he could speak ten languages, so it isn’t all in English.”

Liam glances at him as Zayn shifts off his own shirt. “I don't know what any of that means.”

Zayn chuckles as he pads over towards his dresser. He stills for a moment as he opens it, wondering how he is going to manage changing his pants with Liam in the room. He has seen Liam in his briefs plenty of times since that is how he always sleeps, but Zayn has never stripped down like that in front of him. “Yeah, that's why I haven't read them.”

Liam turns then, looking completely away from him and Zayn scrambles to take off his jeans and put on his joggers so fast he feels as if he pulls a muscle.

A heat takes over the room as Liam tucks his fingers into his pockets. “Maybe you'll write a book too, one day.”

Zayn lets out a hoarse laugh as he walks over to his bed, feeling more tired now that the conversation is back onto his parents. “I’m not as good with words, and right now I just need to sleep.”

Liam turns then, an awkward look on his face. But Zayn only pats the empty space beside him before curling into his sheets.

“There's room for you.”

There isn't much, but Zayn can't seem to find it in him to mind when Liam’s chest presses up against his back, his fingers hesitant against his hip. He will blame the little alcohol left in his system later for the way he takes Liam’s hand into his own to throw his arm over his side.

(And he will never admit to the way he cuddles Liam’s hand to his chest because thinking too much about it threatens to keep him awake and invisible.)

“Zayn,” Liam whispers as he pushes his fingers into the slot of Zayn’s. Sleep makes it hard for him to focus on Liam’s words, his eyes heavy and refusing to open though he tries so he can focus enough on what Liam is saying. “Whoever you fancy is dumb if they don't fancy you back.”

Zayn sinks back against Liam’s chest, the thump of his heart dragging a comfort through him that pulls him closer to sleep. “He’s not dumb.”

+*

Liam stares up at the ceiling, smiling foolishly as he traces shapes down Zayn’s arm, over the inked shapes already there. It is thrown over his chest, his leg underneath his own and ankle knocked against his. His breath breezes against his shoulder, this soft sleepy look on his face that Liam had to look away from as he felt his temperature spike. His hair is a fluff around his head, and mixing with the thick of his beard, he looks so soft Liam feels as if he could crumble if he isn’t as gentle as possible with his touch.

He stays there for a long moment before gently untangling himself from the other lad, careful not to jostle him too much. He normally goes for his run much earlier in the morning, but it had taken him awhile to fall asleep, too worried about how Zayn never answered who he has feelings for, and then when he fell asleep, he slept like the dead dreaming of soft kisses and ring covered fingers tracing over his skin.

Liam traces his thumb across Zayn’s cheek, grinning at the way his nose wrinkles before he leaves with his clothes bundled in his arms. He tries not to think too much about who has managed to catch Zayn’s heart, because it makes the heat burn too harshly around his solar plexus.

He has always loved Zayn and Malay’s home. It feels as if royalty should live here, with the shiny antiques and breathtaking portraits lining the walls, the red and gold decor of the hallways. The floor to ceiling windows, the staircase that seems wider than his bedroom at the bottom. Just the hallway seems larger than Liam’s whole home.

He tickles his fingers over the dark wood railing, wondering how expensive it must have been to buy as he hears his name.

The Headmaster stands in the wide and tall arched doorway to the kitchen. He wears an apron with a Batman symbol on it around his waist and a spatula in his hand. There are worn out kitten slippers on his feet, and one of his socks is missing.

“Good morning, Mr. Payne. Sneaking out, are you?”

Liam's mouth falls open, as he shakes his head quickly. “Oh, no sir. Of course not. I just um, always go for a run in the morning.”

Malay waves his spatula at Liam before indicating the kitchen with it. “Come, eat first.”

Liam grimaces slightly before shuffling after the Headmaster into the kitchen. His voice isn't stern but nerves spark through him anyway.

Beside the stove there is a stack of pancakes and two plates beside it but Malay reaches into the cabinet to pull out a third. An awkward silence fills the room as he quietly puts together Liam’s plate.

“You can sit,” Malay laughs as he places the plate and a bottle of syrup onto the island in the middle of the kitchen.

Liam sits on one of the stools, after placing his pile of clothes by his feet. “Thank you.”

“You know Liam,” Malay starts as he turns back towards the stove to pour more batter onto the frying pan. “I've never really known how to parent well. When I checked on my boy this morning and saw you there I first thought, ‘how cute’. But then I figured I should channel my inner Yaser. His reaction wouldn’t have been quite as erm - the same.”

Liam stiffens, eyes going wide. “Oh uh, I don't think _that's_ quite necessary,” he blurts, though he isn't quite sure what the Headmaster actually means by that. His face gets hot as Malay chuckles in response. “I mean, we were just sleeping.”

Malay waves his hand in dismissal. “You're a good boy, Liam. Zayn cares for you a lot. Yaser would have loved you. Given you bit of a hard time maybe, but he was always harmless.”

Liam looks down at his plate, dragging his fork over the syrup on his plate. He feels like he has been caught in the middle of the walk of shame and is going to be drilled for it, though they _were_ just sleeping and Zayn wouldn't ever want anything more with him, but a soft smile takes over his lips at that. He just wishes he cared for him the same way he cares for whoever it is that has managed to capture his heart.

“The father in me wants to go on that ‘don't hurt my son’ rant. You know the scary Dad talk that follows finding your son half naked with another boy in his bed.”

Liam makes a choking sound, embarrassment making him feel like flames are covering his skin.

Malay looks over his shoulder, chuckling again. “I won't though. Zayn might kill me from embarrassment, but I'll just say if I trust anyone with him, it is you. Which brings me to -”

Liam frowns as Malay comes over and dumps another pancake onto his plate though his others remain untouched. There is no amusement in his face, but his expression is kind. “I don’t know if I have made this clear, but I have nothing but faith in your ability to control your power. I know you're afraid of being like your father Liam, but I know you won't be. Trust me, I'm old. I know things.”

He smiles softly but his chest cracks at the mention of his father. He doesn't like anyone knowing about him, he hasn't even told Zayn anything about him other than he hasn't been in his life, but Malay brings it up like they are talking about the weather sometimes.

“You can't be sure.”

“I can,” Malay says softly. “Being around your father felt like being around a bucket filled with gas that has a lit match hovering over it. Yours is more like, a campfire. A candle you light when you want to relax.”

Liam snorts at that. “Oh.”

Malay looks past him before he lets go of Liam’s shoulder. “Eat up, we can discuss you sneaking into my son's room late at night during our session tomorrow.”

“ _Malay_ ,” he hears Zayn say in offense and he turns around, seeing nothing. As soon as he focuses though, he can feel the chill trailing over from the doorway. Sometimes he swears he can see the outline of Zayn like he can with Scout, but when he tries to focus his eyes, he loses it.

“Good morning,” Malay says simply as Zayn appears for them. There is a mortified look on his face as he approaches the island.

“We were just sleeping,” Zayn tells him pointedly. “Like mates do.”

Malay makes a strange noise then, and when he turns to bring Zayn’s plate his face is strangled looking. “Okay, eat your pancakes. We can have the sex talk later.”

Liam chokes again on the piece of pancake he had tried to swallow, flaring up the room as Zayn disappears almost instantly. Malay practically shakes with laughter.

They eat in awkward silence, Zayn never returning to be seen and Malay having to leave from the heat building steadily in the room. Liam practically swallows every bite, wishing he could read Zayn’s mind since he can't find the courage to ask him why he is invisible.

When he gets up to leave, Zayn takes his plate before he can bring it to the sink. He is confronted with those warm brown eyes, and those thick eyelashes that Liam has always sworn were created by magic.

“Sorry about him. I've told him plenty of times that we are just mates.”

Liam grins as he picks up his clothes. There is a small spark of happiness in his chest that everyone keeps thinking they are boyfriends. “Has he asked plenty of times?”

Zayn huffs out a laugh as he places their dishes in the sink. The other lad has a loose thin sweater on, one Liam is pretty sure is his own, the sleeves bunched up to his elbows and it makes him look softer than normal. Liam wants to stroke his skin and tell him how badly he wishes they were more than just mates.

“Yeah, a few times. Are you going for your run?”

Liam nods. “Stopping at the dorm first, though.”

Zayn nods too, padding over to tickle his fingers against Liam’s belly. “K. See you there, yeah?”

Liam can't help but slide his palm over Zayn’s cheek, expressing his thoughts through the drag of his fingertips against his skin. Zayn leans his cheek into it, palm sliding over his abdomen to rest at his hip. It could be so easy to slide his lips against Zayn’s, but it isn't at all as his courage slips away from him. Touching him like this he knows is okay, but anything more might make Zayn disappear from him for good.

“Liam,” Zayn says softly, lips quirking up just some as his eyes search his face. His skin falls cold but he doesn't disappear, only moves closer. “About what I said last night, um, I -”

Whatever he is going to say is interrupted as Malay bursts into the room, an alarmed look on his face that makes Liam and Zayn pull away from each other abruptly.

“Call Blast,” Malay says, urgency in his voice. The Headmaster’s eyes don’t even look at them like he didn’t notice that Liam was a moment from placing his lips to his adopted son’s. “Tell him to meet me at the pool house, immediately.”

Zayn doesn't hesitate to take his phone out of his pocket to search for the security guard’s number. “What happened?”

“The pool is flooding,” Malay says, the panic clear in his voice. He rushes out the door and Liam and Zayn have to jog to keep up with him. “Professor Ocean says it is filling the room, and it is filling quickly.”

Zayn and Liam exchange alarmed glances. Liam wants to ask how that is possible but he takes off running at Malay’s words, uncaring about anything else.  

“And Scout is stuck inside.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you're enjoying this so far! Thank you for your patience with this being a day late. I expected to be home earlier today but we hit a ton of traffic lol. I hope you enjoy this chapter!! 
> 
> (and thank you everyone for the wonderful feedback!!)

The water is halfway up the tall windows lining the building, above their heads as they approach. There is a crowd of students and professors waiting outside of it, clustered around with panicked stricken faces and feet glued to the ground. Malay pushes through all of them, yelling at them to get as far back as they can.

“Blast isn’t answering,” Zayn yells before he dials his number for what feels like the hundredth time. Security guards roam campus all hours of the day, but Blast’s shift ends before sunrise.

“Call the one - what is his name? Who can run fast? To get to the guards’ corridors and wake him up!”

“That's me sir,” yells Louis, popping up from the middle of the crowd though only his hand can be seen waving above everyone’s head. He doesn't wait for Malay to respond before he is blurring through the crowd, kicking off dirt behind him.

“Do you see Scout?” Liam asks, gripping Zayn’s elbow. Panic makes his throat tight, and he wishes he had a more convenient power than just being able to turn invisible. Something that could shatter the windows or make the water disappear.

The water squad is already here, stood in a triangular formation with frustrated looks on their faces as nothing they try is effective in stopping the water from rising higher and higher.

“No,” Zayn murmurs, feet glued to the ground as Malay yells at everyone who nears close to the building.

“Scout is in there,” Griff says, jogging up to them with Ned from their right. There is a terrified look on his face that makes Zayn’s stomach feel like an empty pit. “At the top, they can swim good but they are going to get tired soon. They left early this morning to practice. We had eye on them at one point but I haven’t seen them in a few minutes.”

“If the water keeps rising at this rate -” Ned starts, but Griff hushes him, making a wounded sound.

Zayn glances back at the building, where the water is at least a foot higher now than when they first arrived.

“Come on,” Liam whispers, pulling Zayn with him. “Malay said the pool room was locked, not the building.”

Zayn trips after him, confused. “There is nothing we can do, Liam but wait -”

Liam shakes his head, tugging him along. Malay is turned towards Professor Ocean, missing them sneak around the building to where the back entrance is. “They are probably scared, Zed. We have to, I dunno. We just have to find them. We can’t wait.”

The smell of chlorine is overwhelming as it fills his nose when they rush inside. Liam lets his hold on him go as he runs up a set of metal stairs. It leads them to a high floor looking over the pool. It is lined with windows as well, and despite what Malay had said about the room being locked somehow, Zayn tries to wrench open the doors that lead down to the diving boards that are currently underwater anyway. But they barely even budge.

“Scout!” Liam cries, banging hard against the window. Scout is halfway on the other side of the room, eyes clenched shut and arms moving through the water to keep them above it.

“Liam,” Zayn breathes out, pointing to the water which rises steadily. It seems to be growing faster than before, the water already rising over their legs and there is only a few feet before it reaches the ceiling. “We have to do something.”

“Fuck,” Liam exclaims, banging on the windows again. Scout rips their eyes open before swimming over, panic on their face. Despite what Griff had said about Scout being worn out, they seem to speed through the water.

A desperate feeling takes over him as Scout touches the other side of the window. They are so close, barely an inch away but Zayn _can't get to them_. Just an inch of glass -

He wants to pound on the window in hopes that it will shatter, but he doesn't want to make Scout anymore afraid. And he knows they _won't_ break.

“Blast is on his way,” he says, failing at sounding calm as he puts his hand over Scout’s. He hopes he is already here, but he has no idea if Louis can run with people. “To shatter the windows.”

Scout says something but Zayn can't hear them, he can only see their mouth moving. The water has risen higher than his and Liam’s shoulders now, the window like ice. Scout’s teeth chatter, eyes falling shut again.

“Warm the water up,” Zayn says, gripping Liam’s elbow in panic. “Liam, it's freezing -”

“I am,” Liam huffs out in frustration, his fingers digging into the glass. Heat radiates off of him, the window fogging up almost instantly. “I'm trying to melt the glass but I don't know, I don't think I can.”

“You can,” Zayn insists, feeling the glass growing hotter under his hands though he isn't actually _sure_ if he can. He has heard the Headmaster mention the windows being indestructible, but he doesn’t know if that applies to every building.

“Wait,” Liam gasps, pounding on the window again. Scout is above them now so Liam runs back when their eyes eyes open. “Gills!”

He screams it over and over, clapping the side of his neck until realization takes over Scout’s face.

“Gills?” Zayn repeats, watching Scout sink further into the water.

“Yeah,” Liam huffs out, stepping back to put his hands back onto the glass. “They can camouflage, toughen their skin to adapt to my temperature. I'm sure gills will work.”

“Liam, that is completely different than forming gills.”

“Watch,” Liam says, a desperate look on his face as he places his palms back to the glass.

After what seems like forever, the seconds dragging by, Scout dives down towards them, finger brushing over the flapping skin at their neck, a cluster of bubbles rising from them. Their eyes are wide with excitement, and relief as the top of the water can no longer be seen from where they stand.

“Careful,” Liam yells, pointing his finger against the glass. “Of the Blast.”

The water vibrates then,  and Liam is pulling Zayn back as a loud, muffled shatter hits echoes through the building.

Cracks form at the top of the windows as the water lowers, but Zayn doesn't have enough time to see where Scout goes as Liam is tugging him back down the steps hurriedly. The clatter of glass falling where they had been standing echoes shockingly loud around them, making him flinch with how quickly he turns invisible from the fear that rushes through him. His feet stumble over the steps, but Liam’s grip on him is tight and firm, keeping him standing.

Outside of the entrance, they can hear the water pouring out of the building before they water see it. Waves of water covering the sidewalk and rushing towards the crowd that scrambles away from it.  Half of the people stumble and trip, the air filling with gasps and shouts that seem defeaning.

Niall is in the distance with Professor Green, both holding their hands out firmly in front of them with their eyes focused on where Blast floats over where the water pours out from the shattered windows. He is a large man, thick build and like double Zayn’s height practically, and Niall’s face strains with the effort to keep him up.

A scream pierces the air as Blast clatters to the ground. Professor Green’s whips his hands in a different direction, towards where Scout sits on a rush of water pouring through the glass. He just catches Scout before they hit the ground, water rushing out behind them. They scream again, arms folding in against their stomach as Green rushes them away from the water.

Zayn runs towards Scout as they lay them flat on the ground, Malay on his knees beside him in seconds. He hears Liam’s gasp as he eyes the scarlet covering their arm and dripping onto the ground beside them. Liam grabs onto his hand before they can get to them.

“I'm okay,” he hears Scout blurt to Malay, who reaches for their arm as they sit up. Their words come out rushed and choked, and sounding nothing like okay. “Hit the glass, I think. Hurts like a bitch. Sorry - er, professor.”

“Why are the medics not here?” Malay snaps at Green behind him, rage in his eyes. There is an anger on his face that Zayn has never seen before, not even when he accidentally shattered an expensive vase playing footie inside of his office with Harry. “Get the damn medics!”

Zayn falls to his knees, taking Scout’s hand into his own, keeping his eyes away from the gash that seems too deep for Scout to be okay. “You're okay.”

Scout nods, shivering. Their skin is like ice to the touch, and Zayn only has to glance at Liam before he is kneeling down beside him. “Payno had a good idea.”

Zayn grins, rubbing his thumb over Scout’s wrist, wishing he could take the pain and fear from them. It makes his stomach twist, his heart pounding in desperation to just take his friend’s pain away, to ease the fear gripping at their features. “He did.”

Liam chuckles weakly, sliding an arm around Scout to pull them closer carefully. The same fear he feels flickers in Liam’s eyes. “Just happy you're okay.”

“What happened?” Zayn murmurs quietly. Their skin warms under his touch, though Scout’s teeth still clatter.

Scout only shrugs, the fear still holding onto their features. “I don't know, the pool just started overflowing so I went to walk out but every door was locked. I pounded on the window until Professor Ocean came but he couldn’t open any doors either.”

Zayn glances at Malay, who talks rapidly on the phone. He tries to push away the thoughts bubbling in his mind, the images of old newspapers with headlines of floods and storms, fires killing children.

“You didn't see anyone?”

Scout shakes their head, tucking their face against Liam’s chest. “No.”

“Just breathe, yeah,” Zayn murmurs gently, wiping his hand over Scout’s wet forehead. “Malay can worry about that.”

They stand and move away as the medics come rushing in, a stretcher behind them that Scout insists they don't need, but they insist the opposite.

“You're okay,” Liam whispers in his ear, sliding an arm around Zayn’s waist. The warmth runs through him, comforting the tremble in his limbs and the sour feeling in his stomach. “You breathe too.”

Zayn only nods, wanting to follow after the medics to keep an eye on Scout. For comfort, or something. As terrified as he was, he can't imagine how scared Scout must have been. He swears he could feel it under his fingertips, the vibration of fear. Like he can with Liam, but different. It didn’t cover his skin, only where it touched Scout’s.

It is on Malay’s face too, somewhat hidden beneath the calm look that he is trying to maintain as he speaks to the Professors and security guards around him in a hushed voice. It is in the way his lips tug down, the inability to stay still as he speaks.

Professor Ocean and Green work to lessen the crowd, but Zayn and his roommates stand huddled together a few feet away from Scout as they put them onto the stretcher.

“Are you hurt?” The medic asks, his calm voice contrasting with the chaos around them.

Scout nods, lifting their shaking arm and resting it on their stomach. “I cut myself on the broken window I think.”

Zayn closes his eyes, not wanting to see the wound again but Liam’s gasp makes his eyes rip back open.

The medic is frowning as he digs into his bag for something to wipe at Scout’s arm. When he does, he murmurs something Zayn can't hear from where they stand but he can see how the blood disappears, revealing smooth, unharmed skin underneath.

“What the fuck,” Scout gasps, glancing up in confusion at the medic. “It hurt so bad. I didn’t imagine that shit, I swear.”

Malay rushes over, waving for them to move towards the emergency vehicle. He turns then, waving his hands at all of them. “Go to your dorms, and stay there.”

+*

Zayn doesn’t stay in his dorm, too restless to be stuck inside. Fear grips at his chest as he tries to wash it away with relief, replaying a mantra of _Scout’s okay_ over and over again in his mind.

It isn't helping much. Sneaking through campus he had seen the groups of guardians flooding through the gates, equipped with weapons and suited up in full gear. They had put him at unease with their metal armor, the way it skates up their necks and covers the lower half of their face. Malay would have only called them if he thought there was a real danger, and seeing them here terrifies him.

Zayn wraps his arms around his chest, squeezing himself tightly. He has hidden himself away in the burnt down lab, needing to mute the chaos outside and the grim feeling covering the campus so he can read the articles he has found online about Thurmaston, but he had put his phone away after it increased the panic he feels.

The sound of footsteps makes him fall invisible, and he presses further into the wall as if he could absorb into it. But his name pulls him back, relief flooding through him.

“Zayn? Is that you in here?”

Harry steps into the room hesitantly, eyes finding him. Behind him, two little brownish gray bunny rabbits hop after him. “What are you doing in here?”

“Nothing,” Zayn responds immediately, not wanting to make harry feel bad by telling him he came here to be alone. “What are you _doing_ in here? No one comes in here?”

Harry shrugs, hesitancy gone as he makes his way through the room. He doesn’t look uneasy at all. “All the animals have been hiding. I found these two in here.”

Zayn grins as he watches Harry tickle his fingers on the top of one of the bunnies’ head. It’s little cotton tail wiggles some as they press up onto their hind legs, rubbing their head into his palm before falling back on all four.

“Plus,” Harry continues, tucking his fingers into his pockets. “Carlos said he saw some lady he doesn't know come in here, so I thought, you know, I'd investigate. But it's just you.”

“Who's Carlos?”

Harry tips his chin towards the window a few feet away from him. “That tree right there. He hasn’t been the same since the lightning burned down his friend, he is probably paranoid.”

“Oh,” Zayn trails off. “Well no one else is in here, um. Just me. Did um, Carlos tell you what she looked like?

Harry sits on top of the desk he had put in here, the bunnies resting under his feet. “No, just that she was older. I’m surprised anyone comes in here. Especially you.”

Zayn stiffens some, wishing he could absorb into the wall like that one kid whose name he can never remember. “Why’s that?”

Harry shrugs, tucking his fingers through his hair. “Dunno. Probably ‘cause your parents died in here, you know. Like, this exact room”

Harry freezes then, eyes going wide and his mouth still parted around his words. “Shit, sorry. That was rude.”

Zayn shakes his head, a tight feeling taking over his throat. “No, s’okay. I mean, it is weird. I just can like, feel them here you know?”

Harry nods, lips still formed into a grimace. “Maybe their souls are still here you know. Well, your mum’s. Since your dad died in the hospital.”

“What?” Zayn blurts, feeling his face crumple.

Harry nods, pointing to one of the scarred lab tables. “Me dad found him there, said he was still alive but barely. Their burns, there was something about them that made the Healers unable to cure them.”

Nausea twists in his belly as he stares at the spot Harry had pointed to. He knew that they had died in here, but knowing the exact spot makes him want to be sick. “Did he? Did he like, say anything to your dad?”

Harry gives him a hesitant look, a sadness in his eyes that feels like the pity Zayn hates being directed towards him. “Just your mum’s name. But they couldn’t find her in time before he died.”

Tears prickle at his eyes and he shakes his head as if that can make them go away. “I um, I have to go. See Malay, you know?”

Harry gives him an apologetic look as he nods. “I’m sorry, Zayn. I always talk about inappropriate things at inappropriate times.”

Zayn only shakes his head, desperate to get out of the room that feels as if it is closing in on him. “Just um, no more investigating strange things by yourself, yeah? If you see something weird, tell Malay first.”

He feels hot suddenly, like there is fire around him, trailing behind him and he practically runs out of the building, leaving Harry alone without another word.

The security guards patrol the campus, making Zayn have to fall invisible the moment he steps outside. He walks past the pool house, the ground in front of it soaked and covered in pieces of glass. He watches guardians move around inside and outside the building, with Blast a few feet away supervising them all. The guardians make Malay uneasy too, which is probably why he had instructed the head of security to keep an eye on them.

Zayn tiptoes past them all, fingers tracing over the wall on the side. Malay had said there was a power pulsing through the air last time, but he feels nothing. Letting his eyes fall shut, he focuses on the building, and the air around him, but _nothing_.

He scurries away from the pool house as a guardian moves too close to him, heading quickly to Malay’s office building.

He can hear the chatter down the hallway from Malay’s office as he walks up to it. He sees Lou first, who looks overwhelmed as she watches on. The plants sat on her desk practically tremble around her, the flowers closing and blossoming over and over. Closer, Zayn can see Malay, amongst a group of guardians covered in their metal uniforms.

They used to scare him when he was younger, and he still feels a bit of that fear. The metal they wear is supposed to keep out other’s powers, but it is a faulty metal that only works half of the time. A mimic of one of his parents’ designs. But it makes them look ominous and almost unhuman, especially with the way their eyes hold no emotion in them. Just blank orbs.

“You cannot speak to him, actually.”

Zayn stills where he stands, hiding behind the wall a few feet from the door though he can't be seen either way. Malay’s stern voice is like ice, powerful and refusing not to be heard.

“But Headmaster, he could provide us with vital information.”

“He cannot,” Malay says, the anger and irritation in his voice worsening and making Zayn tense where he stands “You _cannot_ speak to him. Go to Inis Correctional, instead, would you? Assure me your suspect is still there. And then maybe you can speak to him. Maybe.”

Zayn peeks his head around the corner, and it is a bad move when Malay’s eyes scan over his area regardless of his invisibility. It just worsens the angered look on his face, making Zayn sink quickly away.

“This is the last time I’m talking about it until you are sure the suspect is still at Inis. Please go. And don’t approach any of my students, understood?”

Zayn waits for the guardians to leave before he lets Malay see him. But the old man doesn’t look at him, only sighs out as he presses his face to his palm.

“How is Scout?”

Malay looks up at him, brows raising in confusion for a moment like he had forgotten what had just happened.. “Good, they are just fine. Not a scratch.”

“But I saw -”

Malay waves him into the office silently. It isn’t until Zayn is in the office and Malay has the door closed that he speaks again. “They are fine, I assure you. A little shaken up, but fine. I told you to go back to your dorm, did you?”

“Kind of,” Zayn mutters in shame. “But then I went to the lab.”

Malay sighs again as he makes his way back to his desk chair. He doesn’t sit in it though, instead shuffles through the folders on the top of his desk. “I have quite a lot going on, Zayn. I don’t want to have to worry about you, as well.”

“Is there something to worry about? Did you feel that powerful energy again?”

Malay gives him a tired look. “It was worse this time, that is why I called the guardians in. They actually hurt one of my students. Whether there is a true threat or not, I’m not taking any chances.”

Zayn drags his teeth across his bottom lip, dread making his chest feel heavy. “Carlos said he saw a strange woman, going into the burned building. I thought you’d want to know, that is why I came here.”

It isn’t why he came here truly, he wanted to ask Malay if what Harry had said was true, but suddenly his tongue feels thick and he doesn’t want to talk about his parents anymore and add any more stress to Malay’s already heavy features.

“Who is Carlos?”

Zayn fidgets his fingers against the back of his neck. “Um, that big tree outside of the lab they used to work in?”

Malay frowns at him, annoyance tinting his features.

“Wait,” Zayn says hurriedly. “Harry can talk to them, yeah? Just, keep an eye out. He said it was an older woman.”

Malay pinches the bridge of his nose. “Thank you, Zayn. Now please go to your dorm, and _stay_ there.”

+*

Scout returns in the morning, fear still attached to their face. They don’t stay long, hidden in their room with Griff, before their parents pick them up. They were fretful and panicked, tending over Scout like they could still shatter into pieces like the glass had at any moment and Liam isn’t too hopeful that they will let them come back to the Academy.

Zayn climbs into the bed with him after escorting Scout and their parents outside. He tucks himself into his side and Liam doesn’t hesitate to curl an arm around him. He has been quiet and clingy ever since returning from his talk with Malay the night before.

Not that Liam minds of course, he is glad he can be a source of comfort for the other lad. He is just dying of curiousity. But Zayn never pushes him to speak about things on his mind, and he isn’t going to do it either.

“This curfew has only been set for an hour and I’m already dying of boredom.”

Liam huffs out a laugh, tucking his fingers through Zayn’s hair. Malay has prohibited anyone from leaving the dorms unless it is for meals and classes, creating a static of fear and uncertainty amongst them all. The rumors have already started flying around, about a threat to the school, a student causing the storm and the flood. Liam doesn’t know what to believe, what to think, and he is thankful Malay allowed them to skip their classes for the day so he doesn’t have to think about it unless he wants to.

“You can go to class,” Liam suggests.

Zayn makes a noise of complaint, rolling towards him so he can prop himself up on his elbow. “Let’s go do something.”

“We’re not allowed to leave the dorms.”

Zayn frowns at that. “We can go to an academic building or summat, I dunno.”

Liam opens his lips to protest, but a playful smile takes over Zayn’s lips and he can’t say no then when his face is finally something brighter than the grim expression that he has been wearing since Scout’s accident.

“Let me get this straight. You don’t want to go to class, but you want to go to an academic building?”

Zayn shifts from the bed, reaching out to grab Liam’s hands and pull him up. “Let’s meditate, yeah?’

Liam closes his eyes as he groans. “But why?”

He lets Zayn tug him up, barely putting up a fight though he hates meditation.

“To clear our minds,” Zayn explains. “I want to focus on something else other than everything going on.”

Liam snorts. “Like my inability to control my power.”

Zayn tickles his fingers against Liam’s belly. “You mean, how well you’re progressing on controlling it?”

He doesn’t respond, reluctant to argue or say something that could make Zayn do anything other than smile.

The campus is quiet as they walk through it, no one lingering outside as everyone is either in class or their dorms. It would be a shame wasting the last few warm days before fall comes around, if it weren’t for the gray of the sky and the heavy scent of rain lingering in the air.

“Do you think Scout’s parents are going to let them come back?” Liam asks as Zayn pushes open the door to the athletic center.

Zayn nods, a look of certainty on his face. “Scout said they were just going to go home for a few days. Just to like, you know, take it easy. Oh, and something about retail therapy.”

Liam nods, relief flooding through him. “That’s probably a good thing. You can feel it in the air, the disturbance.”

Zayn stills as the door shuts behind them, face crumpling. “You can feel it?”

Liam frowns as he nods. “You can’t?”

The other lad shakes his head before he pads off, and Liam watches him in confusion for a moment before he follows after him.

“I can only feel like, it feels grim,” Zayn explains. He peers in the windows on the doors to classrooms as he walks down the hallway, looking for an empty one. “But can you feel like? A disturbance in the air?”

Liam nods, teeth shifting over his bottom lip. He doesn’t know if that is a good thing or a bad thing, since because of it, fear makes itself home in his chest. “Yeah, scares the fuck out of me too.”

Zayn stops when he finds an empty classroom, one used for yoga practice, before he turns. There is a soft look on his face as he takes Liam’s hand into his own. “What does it feel like?”

Liam shrugs. He can’t explain the way the air feels as if it is too dense with power, a power that makes his stomach curl and his heart stutter in his chest. It feels toxic, causing an alarm to go off in his head. “The power here, it usually feels comforting yeah? Like a security blanket. But this, this feels like the opposite.”

Zayn parts his lips a few times, thumbs rubbing over the back of his knuckles. “It could just be because it is scary, what happened.”

Liam only shrugs again, pulling his hands away from him before he presses his chest close to Zayn’s, to push open the door behind him. Zayn’s fingers tickle across his belly for a moment before he is turning and heading into the room.

He lays out yoga mats, taken from the metal cabinet against the wall on the side of the room. Liam faces his back towards the mirror, fingers tapping against his knees as Zayn sits across from him.

“Easy pose,” Zayn offers, shifting one of his feet underneath his legs and Liam follows the movement. He straightens his back, trying to keep the frown off of his lips. “You hate this, don’t you?”

He grins at Zayn, who pouts mockingly at him. “No.”

Zayn wrinkles his nose, letting his eyes fall shut. “You’re a liar, but I accept it.”

It isn’t a lie, really. He hates getting frustrated with himself, and it happens easily like this, but he much rather be with Zayn, no matter what he is doing, and more than he would want to be with anyone else.

“Inhale, slowly.”

Liam doesn't, instead he peeks an eye open. Zayn is distracting, too. Effortlessly so, with the loose sweater that hangs from his shoulders, revealing the ink on his chest. The soft of his features as he relaxes, his thick eyelashes spanned across his cheekbones. His lips part for a moment as his tongue flicks out against his bottom lip, a crease forming between his brows before he opens his eyes too.

“What?” Zayn laughs, tucking his hands into his lap. He shines bright too, brighter than any flame with a sparkle in his eyes that Liam always craves to see.

“You should be a teacher after we graduate,” he responds.

“What? Why?”

Liam shrugs. “‘Cause you snuck us out of the dorm to do homework..”

Zayn pushes his foot hard against Liam’s knee to jostle him. “We can go back if you want.”

Liam shakes his head. “Wherever you are, I want to be.”

Liam straightens his back, letting his eyes fall shut again so he doesn't have to see Zayn’s reaction to that. The long moment of silence is enough of a response.

“Focus, Li. Think about whatever it is that Malay told you to think about to find the source of your power.”

Liam peeks his eyes open again, his body tensing and already starting to warm. His heart stutters in his chest, because he could just think about the way Zayn makes him feel, but Zayn’s bare chest pops immediately into his head and he can’t get into that thought with Zayn only a foot away from him. “Er -”

“What now?” Zayn complains, crawling onto his knees and reaching out towards him. He covers his eyes, and after a long moment Liam shuts them.

“Uh, I dunno,” Liam mumbles, feeling like his breath is getting stuck in his lungs. He begs for himself to calm down, trying to focus on the feeling as his mind runs over thoughts of Zayn enough to keep the heat from rising too much.

He wishes he could turn invisible like Zayn but he is thankful that the other lad can’t read minds like Ned, because then he really would scare the other lad off with the thoughts of his lips molding against his own.

He hears Zayn sigh, feels the breeze of cold from his fingers that he always feels when Zayn turns invisible. “Inhale first.”

Liam sucks in a breath slowly, too aware of how close Zayn is to him. He can practically feel his heart beating, slower than his own.  He wants to feel it under his own, with their chests pressed together.

Liam exhales, as he thinks about Zayn’s lips parting against his own, his fingers carding through the hair at the back of his head. Their bodies moving in sync with Zayn’s slow heart beat, before Liam slots their lips together.

A curl of arousal drags down his spine as he thinks of pushing his thumb between those lips, and with the heat pouring through him the feeling builds quickly. His mind dragging over thoughts of Zayn’s lips against his throat, his slender fingers tracing over his skin. His ears thump with Zayn’s heart beat, it feels like it is dragging him in and washing away everything around him.

“What are you thinking about?” Zayn whispers, breaking Liam’s focus. For a moment he lost himself in the feel of Zayn’s heart beat, forgetting the other lad was even there.

“I'm focusing,” Liam mutters, shifting his legs before his hands fall into his lap instead of on his knees as he feels his dick twitch underneath his joggers. He is suddenly too aware of how hot it is in the room, and he exhales out shakily as he tries to focus on the spot above his navel rather than just the arousal that is trying to build there too.

Zayn is quiet before Liam feels his fingers slide across his chest and rest against his heart. The touch startles him away from the _thought_ of Zayn’s hands on him.

“Sorry,” Zayn mumbles, fingers pulling back.

“No, it's okay,” Liam blurts out, desperate for Zayn’s touch. “It helps.”

Zayn doesn’t respond, but his hand brushes back over his chest, sliding up enough that his fingers tickle his collarbone. It feels oddly good, easing away his embarrassment and the tension he feels with every slide of Zayn’s thumb against his skin.

“Focus on that feeling,” Zayn says under his breath, his thumb rubbing underneath Liam’s throat. He imagines his lips there, teeth digging into his skin before his tongue licks over the mark left behind.

Liam lets out a shaky breath, trying to focus on that instead the building arousal in his belly. He swears he has never felt this hot, the sweat practically pouring off of him but Zayn doesn’t say anything, doesn’t move away, so he continues to let thoughts of Zayn and him to consume him.

“And now try to make it go away.”

He is aware of Zayn talking to him, but he focuses on the images of his fingers digging into Zayn’s thighs, his hips moving forward in a slow grind. Zayn’s hands against his throat, keeping their faces close before he whispers a soft _I love you_ against his lips.

“Shit,” Zayn gasps, and Liam’s eyes rip open, his thoughts of Zayn’s body moving with his own disappearing, as he takes in Zayn’s alarmed face only a few centimeters away from his own.

Liam is about to ask what the problem is when Zayn’s eyes dart to the side, and he follows the movement. Panic pours through him as he eyes the red and orange flames licking over the supply closet, and the smoke that dances into the air.

Zayn’s fingers grip hard into Liam’s thigh, his fear washing away as he focuses on Zayn’s instead. “It’s okay,” he promises. He can feel it, the fear making Zayn’s heart beat rapidly in his chest. It is like there are two different fears inside of him, two different heart beats.

It is a promise he isn’t sure he can keep as his eyes fall closed and he swallows, imagining the flames gone, a feeling of desperation to keep Zayn safe and unafraid washing over him.

He blinks a nervous eye open, watching the flames slowly crawl back down and disappear into nothing without even a mark left behind on the metal cabinet. He lets out a harsh breath of relief as the panic statics through him again, despite the fire being gone.

There is just something about it. He knows it has to do with the burns over his side, left behind by his father’s hands, but he doesn’t remember it enough to hold onto this fear, he thinks.

But now he can fucking create fire too. And that alone makes his breath feel stuck in his lungs, throat tight with a panic he wants to push away but it rushes through him too quickly to get ahold of it.

“Liam,” Zayn breathes, fingers folding over his hot cheeks. His face is a bit reddened too, sweat starting to build over his cheeks. “You did it. You made the temperature drop, you made the fire go away. Because you _wanted_ to make it go away.”

He is confronted with a hard press of Zayn’s lips against his cheek, pushing a gasp past his lips because he had thought Zayn was going to kiss him the way he was craving too. But he is half glad he didn’t since just thinking about it caused him to create fire.

“Yeah,” Liam says, trying to catch his breath. He focuses on the press of Zayn’s lips instead of the fire, and it helps to ease the panic in him. “But I created the fire in the first place.”

Zayn pulls back, understanding in his eyes. “Whatever you were thinking was really powerful,” he murmurs thoughtfully.

Liam lets out a shaky laugh. The panic had washed away some of the arousal coursing through him, and he wishes his semi would hurry up and soften before he stands but Zayn’s fingers on his skin aren’t helping.

“Strongest thing I’ve ever felt,” Liam thinks as his heart heavies in his chest. Zayn has said I love you before, in a very offhand platonic kind of way but Liam hasn’t been able to forget the way his voice sounded when he said it, the wrinkle that had appeared in his nose as he laughed out the words. He doesn’t remember what he did to make Zayn say it, but whatever it is he wishes he could do it right now.  

Zayn cocks his head to the side, eyes searching Liam’s face for a moment before he stands and holds a hand out to him. “I think we have had enough practicing. You look like you’ve ran a mile.”

“I feel like I could,” Liam sighs, taking Zayn’s hand to stand up. There is a static of arousal clinging to him, that makes him want to rush into the showers of the gym and stand under freezing cold water.

Zayn takes both of his hands into Liam’s, thumbs rubbing over the back of them. “What was it? That you were thinking about?”

He says it quietly, and hesitantly, his eyes flicking up between Liam’s hands and his face. There is a shy expression on his face, his hands turning cold against his own.

“It wasn’t bad,” Liam assures him. “Like, a good feeling. Not a bad one. And I made the fire go away because I thought you were afraid of it.”

Zayn tilts his head, eyes searching Liam’s face. “You weren’t afraid of it?”

“I am,” Liam mutters, pulling his hands away from Zayn to tuck them into the pocket of his hands. “I’m actually terrified that I can do that.”

+*

Being stuck in the dorms has made it feel like ages have passed before the day is over. It is unusually quiet in his dorm room without Ned’s snores. He has fallen asleep in Griff’s room, not wanting to leave him in there alone.

Liam sleeps beside him, having shuffled in after Niall snuck Harry into his room. Zayn wishes he could sleep as easily as Liam, but every time he closes his eyes, he gets restless.

He traces a finger across Liam’s features, admiring the twitch in his face here and there. His heart beats steadily, his chest rising and falling slowly. He wonders what he dreams about, if they are good or bad dreams.

He can’t stop thinking about the fire that Liam had created, and the fear that had taken over Liam’s face when he had seen it. The other lad thought it made _him_ afraid, but it didn’t. Not for himself, at least. He was afraid for Liam, what this is going to do to him knowing he can create the one thing he is most afraid of.

But he knows, with everything in him, that Liam would never cause him harm. Even accidentally. He just wishes Liam would realize that too.

Zayn presses his lips to the tip of Liam’s nose before he rolls out of the bed, too restless not to walk around. He cracks open the window, letting the cool air from outside blow in since there is no air conditioner in his room.

He pads out of the room, peeking his head into each one of his roommate’s rooms to make sure they are all asleep too before dragging himself through the dorm.

He keeps the lights off as he steps outside, keeping the door ajar. The air is cold, the air thick with fog so he can only see a shadow of the moon ahead. The drizzle of rain here and there and the constant gray sky has not helped with the grim feeling today.

Zayn brings a cigarette to his lips as he rests against the dorm building, letting his eyes fall closed to try and relax. It is the worst when exhaustion clings to you but doesn’t let you sleep. He hates it, really.

His mind fills with Liam’s scared face, and Scout’s as he fills his lungs with smoke. His own fear, curling in his belly as his throat tightens around the taste.

Zayn coughs, dropping the cigarette but he can’t seem to get the smoke from his lungs. His heart pounds against his chest as that fear rips through him again, fingers digging into his thighs as he bends forward from the force of his cough. His throat is tight with it, his tongue burning from the taste.

It flashes in his mind, the fire climbing up the walls from his dreams, the thick, black smoke making it’s way into his body. He lets out a panicked noise, a scream building in his chest. He doesn’t know how he got here, in the fire again, but it is all around him.

A hand presses under his chin, picking his head up as he coughs out his plea for help. He clenches his eyes shut, the tears pouring out of the as the smoke hits them. “It is okay, sunshine. It isn’t real. You are safe.”

Zayn rips his burning eyes open as the touch disappears, finding nothing but the empty yard around him. He wipes at his mouth, letting out another cough to ease the ache in his chest as he continues to search for the source of the feminine voice. He inhales through his nose, the cool, smokeless hair filling him like a shock of relief.

“Hello?” Zayn calls, curling his arms around his chest. He sees nothing, hears nothing, and after a moment he rushes inside.

He locks the door, pressing his forehead to the back of the door to catch his breath. His chest aches from the coughing, and there is no way he could have been _dreaming_. It felt real, like he had transported from the dorm to the building he always dreams of.

A shuffle of feet behind him makes him gasp and rip around, but he breathes out in relief when he eyes Liam’s sleepy face. He rubs at his eyes with his fist as he pads over to him, fingers of his other hand scratching absentmindedly at his belly. Zayn can’t help but stare at him, at the fire that licks up his arms and sparks in his eyes. He doesn’t even seem to notice how it trails after him before sneaking up his legs.

“You okay?” Liam mumbles, his voice hoarse with sleep. Zayn rubs his eyes, trying to get them to stop watering before looking back at the other lad and seeing the flames have gone. Zayn presses against him then, lips tickling against his throat.

“Just, I think I’m sleep walking.”

Liam pulls back, fingers catching under his chin to tilt his head up. “Right now? You look awake to me.”

He _feels_ awake, but the smell of fire in his nose makes him think he is still sleeping. The flame in Liam’s eyes feels so real, but he isn’t warm. “I just think I need to lay down.”

Liam nods, planting a hand to his back as they walk back to the bedroom. There is no fire in the hallways, but he keeps glancing at his back, feeling as if they are trailing after him. There is a concerned look on Liam’s face, but he smiles softly every time Zayn glances at him like he doesn’t want Zayn to catch onto his worry.

Zayn shuffles to the window to close it once they are back in the bedroom, stilling for a moment when he eyes the spiral print beside the window frame. He traces his fingers over it, exhaling out the fear that holds onto him.

“What is it?” Liam asks as he falls into the bed, dragging Zayn’s attention away from the magic print. Smoke seeps off of him, tiny flames flickering up his neck that Zayn reaches out tentatively to touch. It doesn’t feel at warm, and Liam glances at where he touches in confusion.

“Nothin’,” he mumbles, before climbing in next to him. He pushes his leg between Liam’s, clinging to his side. “Dreaming of the fire again.”

“Right now?”

“A moment ago,” Zayn nods, shifting over Liam. He looks down at him, taking in the warmth of his brown eyes and the heat on his skin. It doesn’t feel like he is dreaming, but half the time he is a little overwhelmed by the fact that Liam is real anyway. “Right now I’m just dreaming of you.”

Liam smiles softly, reaching up to slide his palm over Zayn’s cheek. “Dream of me often?”

Zayn huffs out a laugh, nodding as he ducks his head forward. He feels Liam’s rush of breath against his cheek as he slides his lips against the corner of his mouth.

The flame burning in Liam’s eyes comforts him as he settles his head back against Liam’s chest, focused on his heartbeat and the way his fingers trace shapes absentmindedly up his back. It doesn’t take long before the smell of fire leaves his nose, and the heat he feels is from Liam’s comforting touch.

+*

“Settle down, please.”

Green narrows his eyes at them until a silence folds across the room. He waits a moment before turning back towards the chalkboard. “I know there has been a lot going on, but I hope the curfew has allowed you to catch up on your reading.”

A grumble vibrates through  the room, sounding over the move of textbooks onto the desk. “Does anyone want to tell me what chapter six was about?”

Liam doesn’t raise his hand as he scans his eyes over the page. He had read it, but he feels like he is a breath away from falling asleep. He had stayed up after waking up to find Zayn in the living room, trying not to freak out over the fact that Zayn had pressed his lips to his.

Or the fact that he was sleep walking. It doesn’t make sense, that he was sleep walking. Because he was definitely awake, he thinks. But he can’t be sure after that kiss. And if he was dreaming, why is he dreaming about kissing him?

“Eliza Bell,” Griff offers without raising his hand. “She was incarcerated in 1943.”

“For?” Professor Green prompts, writing the name across the chalkboard.

“She planted memories into her victims’ heads,” Griff explains, grimacing at his words. “Memories of the murders she committed. It lead her victims to think that they were the one murdering people.”

“Right,” Green says, pacing across the front of the classroom. Liam scribbles it all across his notebook, glancing at Zayn. “They started to lose the line between reality and their dreams.”

He looks even more tired than him, chin pressed into his palms and eyes closed. He doesn’t even try to hide the fact that he is falling asleep in class.

Liam coughs roughly to wake him up. Zayn flinches, rubbing at his eyes before glancing at him with a soft smile on his lips. Their eyes stay glued for a moment, his heart doing gymnastics in his chest until the classroom door opens.

Malay pokes his head in, nodding towards Professor Green. “I’m sorry to interrupt, Carl. But can I take Mr. Payne for a moment?”

Liam frowns as every head turns to him and he grabs his textbook. He can feel Zayn’s eyes on him as he winds through the desks, and he only shrugs in response before Malay’s hand is catching on his shoulder.

There is a grim look on his face as he closes the classroom door shut. He doesn’t say anything, but starts walking off and Liam can’t do anything but follow.

“Is everything okay, sir?”

Malay nods. “Yes. My office please, Liam.”

The dread that takes over him makes the walk to his office feel like forever. Especially with the silence between them.

“Lou, no interruptions please.”

The Head secretary nods, eyes falling over Liam before she directs her attention back to the computer. Liam sighs, shuffling behind Malay.

“What did I do?”

Malay looks at him for a moment before he shakes his head. “Nothing, Liam. Zayn told me you can feel it? The power that is around us.”

Relief takes over him as he takes a seat, tucking his hands between his thighs. “Yes. It feels bad. He said he can’t feel it.”

Malay nods. He looks old at the moment, like there is a ghost of age around his normally looking young face. “I feel it too,” he tells him grimly. “It is from someone dangerous, harmful. I think that is what makes their power feel so toxic. They do not have any good intentions here.”

Liam shifts in his chair, teeth dragging over his bottom lip as he tries to make sense of what he is saying. “Do you know who it is?”

Malay shakes his head as he rests back against the chair. “I have felt it before, but - he, the person I think it is, is at Inis Correctional. I met with him the night before. It couldn’t have been him, he is monitored at all times. Do you recognize it?”

“The power?” Liam asks, furrowing his brows at Malay before he shakes his head.

Malay peers at him for a moment, a thoughtful look on his face. “You should,” he says after a beat of silence. “Well -”

Malay moves then, pulling open a drawer to his right. He pulls out yellowed newspapers that he places onto the desk.

“I’m not actually sure how much memory you have of your father,” he says, sliding the newspapers so three of them lay flat on the desk.

Liam stills, a prickle against his neck as heat pours through him. “My father?”

Malay nods, pushing one of the newspapers to him. Liam shifts, reading over the titles. It makes his throat tight, though he knows why he had been arrested. He just, never saw it laid out like this in front of him. He didn’t know the number of _people_ -

“I uh, I remember him,” Liam tells Malay. “Of course, I just - I’m sorry. I don’t understand.”

Malay traces his fingers over the headline, _Tornado and Hail Storms Hits Thurmaston, 17 Dead So Far._ “I was called there when this was going on, before the fire your father caused.”

Something twists painfully in his stomach as he stares at the newspaper. “I’m sorry, I just -”

“I’m not trying to bring up a bad memory,” Malay says apologetically as he holds his hands out in front of him. “But it is important I tell you this, Liam. I just need to know if you can handle it.”

Liam swallows, ripping his eyes away from the newspaper so Malay can see he is serious when he nods.

Malay accepts his response with a nod in return. “I was called to Thurmaston, and I felt this same power that you feel right now, there.”

Liam shakes his head, lips parting open as his mind races to understand but he just can’t. His father is in prison, Malay even confirmed it.

“Now, I don’t know what is going on right now. I have no clue how your father is causing this to be honest with you, I just know he is behind it somehow. I am sure of it.”

“Have you,” Liam says quickly, his tongue feeling too big for his mouth and causing him to stumble over his words. “Have you like, what did he say? When you spoke with him?”

“He wouldn’t talk after denying he had anything to do with it,” Malay explains, his voice a lot calmer than the look in his eyes. “He requested to talk to you, but I denied it.”

Liam presses his palms against his eyes, trying to quiet his thoughts enough to focus. He can barely see his face, barely remembers what he looks like. It is haunting whenever he tries, making him feel like he is choking on a smoke he doesn’t remember breathing in.

“Why would he?” Liam presses his lips tightly together, staring at the Headmaster. “Why would he do this?”

Malay pushes another newspaper towards him, reading _12 Dead After Fire at Thurmaston DayCare_ in bold letters at the top. It was what he was charged with, the deaths of those children. Sentenced to two life terms, heavily guarded and deprived of his powers.

“You don’t remember,” Malay comments, head tilting to the side. There is this curious look on his face that makes Liam’s stomach twist even worse. “Liam, your father went to Thurmaston to find you.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!!! There are some mentions of abuse here, but brief and not descriptive. Just want to give a heads up.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter :)

Liam stares blankly at the Headmaster, his words replaying over and over again in his head. _Your father went to Thurmaston to find you._

It doesn’t make sense. He doesn’t remember living anywhere other than his home, in Wolver-Hampton. He doesn’t remember a fire, but he remembers his father being apprehended. His mother never told him he was there where those children died.

She never told him it was _his_ fault.

“I was there?” Liam repeats after a long moment. There is a patient look on the Headmaster’s face, but there is no denying the sadness in his eyes as he nods his head.

“Your mother moved to Thurmaston after they divorced. You stayed with your aunt. You weren’t there long,” Malay explains softly. “She took you there to get you away from him. When we found him at the daycare, all he would say is that he was looking for you.”

“Why?”

Malay shakes his head. “He never said.”

Liam slumps back in his chair, dragging his palms down his face to rid the sweat building across his skin. “So what does that mean? He is doing this because - he wants me?”

“It is my best guess,” Malay responds solemnly. “I already have guardians stationed to watch over your dorm. But I need you to know, and if he contacts you in anyway to report it immediately. In any other way than the letters he always sends to you. And if you feel more comfortable, we can move you somewhere -”

“No,” Liam mutters, staring down at his lap. “I just, I need to process this all. I don’t understand why I don’t remember.”

“I don’t either,” Malay says quietly. “You were quite hard to comfort after it happened. You even pushed your mother away. Something that traumatic - I would think, it would stick with you. You weren’t hurt, the only one who wasn’t, which is what I’m trying to wrap my head around here.”

Liam nods, the fear building inside of him creating pressure behind his eyes. “It stuck with me. I’m terrified of fire.”

“That is understandable.”

Liam shakes his head, wiping at his cheek before a tear can slip past it. “I can create it too.”

Malay frowns, falling still for a moment. He hadn’t wanted to tell anyone, ashamed of it. Embarrassed about how much he is just like his father and his stomach twists painfully as he thinks of what that could mean. “When did you learn that?”

“Yesterday,” Liam mutters before he huffs out. His throat tightens again, and it feels as if he can’t quite catch his breath. “Just like my dad.”

Malay pushes up from his chair, rushing over to him. He knees in front of him, taking his face between his hands.

“You are not anything like him,” Malay says firmly. “What happened when you created the fire? How did you get it to go away?”

“I was - I was, thinking about Zayn,” Liam blurts, uncaring if Malay knows why Zayn is what grounds him. “And he was there, and I thought, I thought he was going to be afraid so I just - dunno, concentrated on it going away.”

A small smile takes over Malay’s lips and Liam wants to push him off because it isn’t anything to smile about.

“See? You have more control than your father did.” Malay lets go of his cheeks before he stands up and paces around the room. “Your father never bothered to try to control himself, Liam. Your father did not care for people the way you do, therefore his power could be - _was_ dangerous.”

Malay tucks his hands into his pockets. “Zayn is outside. I feel like he is a second from breaking down my door.”

Liam sniffles, frowning at Malay. It only takes him a moment before he can feel it, the erratic heart beat he has come to know is Zayn’s.

“How can you tell?”

“I can feel his power too,” Malay tells him simply. “It is very strong, especially when he is upset.”

Liam pushes the newspapers into a stack, trying to focus on anything but his thoughts in order to calm him down. Malay isn’t reacting, but he can see the sweat building over his skin. “Can I take these?”

Malay nods. “Be my guest.”

“Thank you,” Liam mumbles as he stands. Malay claps a hand to his shoulder as the sound of knocking comes from the door. “I just, need to process.”

“Of course,” Malay murmurs. “We will keep you safe, Liam.”

The sound of banging comes from the door, followed by Lou’s frazzled voice. When they open it, she looks angry, arms crossed over her chest. The potted tree across the room moving it’s branches violently behind her.

“I’m sorry Headmaster, I told him no interruptions and next thing I know he has gone invisible and started banging on the door. This one, I tell you Malay - .”

Zayn appears in front of him, fingers catching on his chin immediately as he searches his face. “What is it?”

“I’m fine.”

Malay chuckles softly, patting Liam’s back to guide him farther out of his office. “He is fine, Mr. Malik. Please try to not break down my door again if you could.”

Zayn grumbles out an ingenuine apology, only glancing at Malay when he says it.

“I’ll tell you when we get to the dorm,” Liam says quietly, giving him a soft smile to assure him he is okay but Zayn doesn’t buy it. Because Liam has never been good at lying.

+*

He had listened patiently, the dread growing in him as Liam explained everything Malay had told him with confusion and the pain clear in his voice. It was as if he could feel Liam’s emotions too, like his fingertips were soaking them in as he traced them over his palm as he spoke. He doesn’t understand it, but he knows they weren’t his own emotions. It was like he was holding two different people’s emotions at one time, his own and the other man’s.

“Liam, you should talk to your mum.”

Liam shakes his head as he pads away from him to rest his hands on the ledge of their window, on each side of the air conditioner blowing onto him. He stares out of it for a long time, and though Zayn’s mind races with things to say, he doesn’t want to interrupt whatever Liam is thinking about.

“She never told me,” Liam mutters after a while, there is a distracted look on his face and Zayn isn’t sure if he is speaking to him or himself. “He killed those kids because of me. Hurt Scout, because of me.”

“Liam,” Zayn says abruptly, pushing up from Liam’s bed to rest his palm to Liam’s burning back. “Don’t do that.”

“It’s true though,” Liam mumbles, his body tensing underneath his hand. “Maybe I should just - I dunno, Malay said he wanted to talk to me. Maybe I should. See what he wants before he does something else, hurts someone else.”

Zayn grimaces, his throat feeling tight as Liam’s fear pulses through his palm. “Can you handle that?”

“No,” Liam breathes without hesitation. He turns then, reaching out to slide his palms over Zayn’s cheeks. His eyes are swollen from the tears that had slipped from his eyes while he spoke, and the look on his face makes it feel like his heart is shattering inside of his chest. “But I don’t know what he wants with me - if he just wants to -”

Liam cuts off, his lips pressing tightly together before he curls forward against Zayn’s chest. Zayn sighs, knocking his cheek against Liam’s head as he rubs at his back. Liam stays there for only a moment before his body stills, and a rush of a gasp pasts his lip.

“Shit,” Liam gasps, running past Zayn and practically tripping over his feet. Zayn stares at him in confusion for a moment before Liam turns around with his hand out.

The flames lick at his fingers and dance above his palm. Liam just stares at it, the flames flickering in his eyes and lips parted around a silent gasp.

Zayn walks hesitantly over to him, eyeing the flames. He reaches for him, sliding his fingers over his forearm while being careful not to touch the flame. “Make it go away, Li. You can.”

Liam’s face breaks. “It doesn’t hurt.”

“Are you afraid of it?”

“Don’t touch it,” Liam blurts when Zayn moves his hand to encourage Liam to close his fist. Zayn drops his hand instead as the flames dance higher. “Don’t come closer.”

“You can make it go away,” Zayn assures him, his voice steady though he feels the opposite. The room grows hotter, the flame growing in his palm. “Just like you did before.”

Liam swallows thickly, his Adam’s Apple bobbing harshly in his throat. The flames take over in his nervous eyes too as he pushes his brows together in concentration.

“Just like before,” Zayn whispers, sliding his fingers back underneath Liam.

“Zayn!” Liam yells with fear in his voice, hand closing together in a fist. The fire disappears immediately, leaving only a wisp of smoke leaking through the spaces between Liam’s fingers.

“See?” Zayn says quietly as Liam flexes his hand open a few times. “You don’t need to be afraid of it. You control it. It's yours to control.”

Liam nods, body trembling, his eyes on his hand like he is afraid the fire is going to appear again. “Please just, don’t come close to me.”

Zayn takes a step back, crossing his arms over his chest in attempt to ease the ache growing behind his sternum. “You won’t hurt me, Li - I know -”

“Does that mean my father wanted to hurt me?” Liam blurts, an uncharacteristic angry tone coating his words. “It could have been an accident. I could accidentally hurt you.”

Zayn stares at him at he lets out a loud, frustrated noise and drags his arm over his face roughly as he paces around the room.

“But that is twice now that you haven’t.”

Liam balks out another frustrated noise, and Zayn can’t even be sure he is listening to him. “What about the third -”

Zayn doesn’t care that he doesn’t want him close then as he pushes into Liam’s space until the other lad’s back hits the wall. He doesn’t remove his hand from his face, and Zayn is gentle when he does, curling his fingers around Liam’s hot hand so he can see his face even though the look on it breaks him. “You won’t.”

He slides his fingers between Liam’s and hugs them between their chests. “This room is burning hot, yet I am okay. I can feel it but it isn’t hurting me. Even though I _know_ it is fucking hot, Liam.”

He says the words firmly, hoping Liam understands. “You said Malay said your father didn’t care for people the way you do. That’s the difference, yeah?”

Liam nods, lips pressed tightly together as he avoids Zayn’s eyes. He kind of hates it, really, he wants Liam to look at him to understand how serious he is but he is nervous about pushing the other lad too much.

“Maybe,” Liam mumbles, squeezing his fingers.

“Trust me,” Zayn whispers, lips quirking up some. “Isn’t it you who always says I’m the smartest person you know?”

Liam snorts, a bit of light coming back to his eyes as he glances at Zayn. “Yeah, you’re right.”

It goes quiet for a moment as Liam’s face softens, his lips parting a few times before he shakes his head like whatever he wanted to say he decided not to.

+*

Liam hides himself in the bathroom, jittery as he paces around the small room. His fingers shake as he dials her phone number, the tears building in his eyes and he hasn’t even hit call yet.

She answers after only a few rings, her voice soft around the word _honey._ It makes the tears slip past his eyelids.

“Honey, are you there?”

“Mum,” Liam whispers, clutching the phone to his ear as he rests his bum against the sink. He can feel Zayn outside, knows he is pacing back and forth in front of the door. “Why didn’t you tell me dad killed those kids trying to get to me?”

There is a long moment of silence before his mother responds, her voice dropping to match the same quiet of his voice. “He was mad at me,” she says. “Because I took you away from him.”

“Because he burned me.”

There is a sniffle in his ear. “It _was_ an accident. He went mad after that trying to find a way to protect you. Even went to the Maliks’ for help, and I knew he was desperate because he tried to put the past behind them with an apology and your father has never been a forgiving man. But, I couldn’t live with myself if another accident happened.”

Liam presses a palm to his face. “How could they have helped him?”

“Does it matter? They didn’t.”

A cold seeps down his spine as he clenches his fingers into a fist. He huffs out a half sob, half laugh that feels like it burns when it comes out. “Can you just answer my questions for once, mum. Please?”

That sigh fills his ears again, and he pulls his phone away to hang up on her when he hears her start speaking.

“They invented things, Liam. They created stones that could increase power, that could get rid of power. Ones, that could protect you from power. He wanted that, for you.”

Liam nibbles on his bottom lip. “And is that why you forgave him? Because he wanted to make it better?”

“Liam,” she says, a tired sound to her voice. “Accidents do happen.”

Liam closes his eyes, seeing the finger shaped burns that linger his mother’s skin. She has never spoke about them, has never even acknowledged that they are there. “Was it an accident every time he did it to you?”

It falls quiet again, and when she speaks, her voice is thick with tears. The guilt twisting through him makes a sour taste rush into his mouth, and he wishes he could suck his words back in. “I love you very much, Liam. He does too. But I have to go.”

Liam crumples to the floor, resting his cheek against his knees as he lets the phone fall beside him. He holds his hand out, watching the flames lick at his fingers. He stays like that for awhile, until Zayn’s soft voice comes floating through the door.

“Are you okay, babe?”

The flames tickle up his forearm, and he stands then, facing himself in the mirror.

He is almost covered, the fire surging from his neck and weaving through his beard. His arms are covered in flickering oranges and reds, and when he moves closer, the fire in his eyes looks back at him.

He gasps quietly, and the fire disappears. It doesn’t disappear fully though, the flames remaining fierce as they drag through his limbs and spark in his chest.

“Liam?” Zayn says, louder this time.

Liam shuffles to the door, pressing his head to the hard wood with his fingers loose around the jiggling door knob. He pulls his hand away to see the metal starting to melt under his touch.

Zayn reaches for him the moment the door is open, dragging cool air over his cheek. “I asked Malay if we could break curfew to play footie outside,” he says softly, a warmth in his eyes that Liam wants to soak in. “Griff and I are making burgers.”

Liam folds his hand over Zayn’s cheek. “We can’t pretend like it isn’t happening.”

The warmth in the other lad’s face grows for a moment. “We can try, for an hour.”

+*

The guardians are stationed outside of both of their doors, following behind Liam wherever he goes. It is terrifying really, and Zayn refuses to leave his side except for class, though even then he is uncomfortable. But even being the Headmaster’s son, he can’t get away with skipping every class to be with Liam.

The leaves turn from green to shades of red and gold, coating the ground with color. The sky remains gray though, the rain appearing here and there every few days. It comes in short periods of drizzling, and hours of downpour. The sun rarely showing itself anymore.

Scout sits on the bench beside him, feet scraping across the bench seat. They hand Zayn one of the cups they are carrying. The taste of apple and cinnamon flood over his tongue and he grins around his thank you.

“Good, right?” Scout says, sipping at their own. The cafeteria is slowly emptying as students truck off towards their classes. There hasn’t been a disturbance since Scout’s, but the grim feeling has still not left the air, the curfew still not lifted. They have been going to the cafeteria instead of cooking in their dorms, just to be somewhere else other than the rooms that now seem to small or the classrooms that feel like cages.

“Mhm,” Zayn hums, watching the guardians he can see walking past the tall windows around the cafeteria. He is a bit distracted, focusing on feeling Liam. He is with Malay, safe he knows, but he can’t help but worry since every time they meet he can feel Liam getting agitated and upset, no matter where he is on campus. He is trying to keep himself from running to him every time he feels it, before Malay takes money out of his savings for a new door, but he just can’t help but wanting to comfort the other lad.

“What’s on in your mind then?” Scout asks, nudging him with their elbow.

Zayn sighs, fingers tapping against the plastic cup. Normally it is hard not to smile around Scout, especially with the glow in their eyes that matches the slight quirk of their lips, but he feels distracted. “It’s gonna sound weird.”

Scout shrugs, that grin playing on their lips. “Hit me.”

Zayn grins too, awkwardly because of the twist of nerves in his belly. He hasn’t even told Malay about it, which he should. Malay would understand it better than anyone, probably. “I can like, feel when Liam gets upset.”

Scout doesn’t say anything at first. “Is he upset now?”

Zayn shakes his head, staring down at where his toe scrapes against the bench seat. “Nah. He usually does though, when he has a session with Malay.”

“Can you feel it with anyone else?”

Zayn hesitates before he shakes his head. He can tell when other people are upset, when he looks at them. But it is only Liam he can feel, though it is stronger when they are together. “No.”

Scout lets out a laugh, cupping their mouth after Zayn whips his head towards them. “I’m sorry,” they hiccup out with a laugh attached. “But like, dude. You know why, right?”

Zayn shakes his head, furrowing his brows at his roommate.

Scout rolls their eyes as Ned laughs from a few feet away from them before he leans over the table to whisper something to Griff. Eavesdropping, probably.

“Tell me,” Zayn insists as Scout laughs again.

Scout gives him a serious look. “You’re in love with him dude. You ever hear of those stories about soulmates? How intune they are with each other and shit. They make each other more powerful, can feel each other’s heartbeat and allat. Probably the same with you and Li, you guys have this thing about you, I dunno. S’gross.”

Zayn shoves Scout away playfully, the truth ringing loudly in his ears. “Am not.”

This only makes Scout laugh more. “What are you, five years old? You can admit it. It’s just words. When he gets here just say ‘ _hello Liam, did you have a nice day? I love you with all my heart, marry me._ ’”

Zayn disappears then, shifting off the table and plopping his cup to it. Scout grabs onto their belly as they laugh, nearly falling off the table from the force of it.

“Don’t be embarrassed,” Ned chuckles, not even trying to look around to find him. “It isn’t like he doesn’t love you back.”

Zayn wants to run and hide then, as his heart expands too big in his chest because it is true. It is the truest thing about him, but it isn’t true that Liam feels the same way. It stands at the front of his mind, soulmates being able to feel each other’s heartbeat, but he has never read that before. Never in his mythology classes. He doesn’t even think there are soulmates out there that have experienced the love he holds for Liam in his heart.

“What are you guys going on about?” Niall asks as he approaches, fingers twirling through a flower in his hair. He goes to sit where Zayn is before he gasps, and flies back. He glares at his general area. “What are you doing to Zayner?”

At the rumble of laughter, a look of realization crosses Niall’s features. “Oh,” he sings, tucking the flower behind his ear. “About Payno, I’m assumin’.”

Zayn flicks his finger hard against Niall’s arm, making him jump back a second time. “Oi!” Niall grumbles, rubbing at his arm. “No one cares how you feel about him. It’s super cute, lad. Until it isn’t, and you guys get all heart eye-y to the point Liam practically cooks me to death.”

Zayn curls his arms around his stomach, refusing to respond as he settles back beside Scout’s legs. He would walk away from them if he hadn’t told Liam to meet him here when he was done with the Headmaster.

“It is totally supported,” Scout continues, still laughing. “We will be standing up there with ya’ll when you get married.”

“I’m the best man,” Niall interrupts, face serious.

“Cool,” Scout replies, making a face like they don’t care. “I’m best person.”

Zayn snorts, letting go of his invisibility. “Shut up, all of you.”

“Do you want me to ask him for you?” Ned pipes up, a mischievous grin on his lips. “Even if he doesn’t answer, I’ll still hear what he _would_ have answered. Trust me, I hear what he thinks about you already.”

“No,” Zayn says firmly, though he contemplates asking what exactly Liam thinks of him. He shakes his head though, refusing to. “This is why I don’t tell you guys anything.”

“Aw,” Scout cooes, rubbing their hand at the back of Zayn’s head. “I’m sorry. Please go on about your soulmate stuff and expect me not to call you out on it.”

They start giggling again as Zayn feels it, a shift in the air. The fast pulse and the frustration coursing across his skin. He sighs, pressing his toes into the ground like that is going to keep him from running to Liam.

The amusement slips off of Scout’s face though as they sit at their apple cider “You can feel him now?”

Zayn nods, dragging a palm down his face. He knows Liam hasn’t told the others about his father, so they think he is there trying to practice not setting things on fire, but he knows Malay has a habit of constantly talking about how Liam’s fear is what is making this so hard on him.

And that always trails back to a conversation about his dad.

“You know what might cheer him up?” Scout suggests. Zayn glares at the grin taking over their lips. “If you tried kissing him -”

Zayn feels his face grow hot, but he doesn’t have to respond as his roommates are distracted by the large bird that flies between them.

It lands on Niall’s shoulder, but Niall doesn’t seem alarmed. Instead he strokes it’s feathres gently, before reaching for the piece of paper rolled up and tied to it’s leg.

Niall looks up, eyes going wide as everyone stares at him. “What? It’s from Harry.”

“What does it say?” Scout asks.

He squints as his eyes scan over the small paper, the corners of his lips quirking up before he glances at Zayn. “Don't you think Zayn should tell Liam he is in love with him already?”

“Shut up,” Zayn groans as his roommates laugh around him. “It doesn't say that.”

“Come on,” Griff says lightly, flicking a chip at him. “It's about time, bro.”

Zayn nibbles on his bottom lip, exhausted from the topic. “I don't think it's the _right_ time, with everything going on.”

Niall shakes his head before gripping Zayn’s shoulder. “I think it's the best time actually, _because_ of everything going on.”

 

Zayn ends up failing at restraining himself from going to Liam, feeling like there is a tug in his gut that won’t ease until he is beside him. At least, he thinks so. He waits quietly in the waiting room outside of Malay’s office, soaking in the heat that burns through the door.

It takes awhile before he finally comes out, while Zayn fidgets and shifts on the seat, a bundle of nerves as his roommate’s words play over and over in his head. He knows how much Liam cares for him, it is obvious. But if Zayn were to utter the _I’m in love with you_ that sounds loudly in his head every time he is with the other lad, he isn’t too sure that it is going to be returned.

And with everything going on, he doesn’t want to give Liam anything more to stress about. Like their friendship being awkward and uncomfortable. But he is conflicted by Ned’s constant need to tell him what he is thinking, by the _it isn’t like he doesn’t love you back._ Because Ned, more than anyone, would know.

Liam’s face brightens when he opens the door and his eyes find him. He looks tired, the bags under his eyes visible beneath his burning skin.

“What’re you doing here?” Liam asks as he shuts the office door behind him.

Zayn shrugs, returning the grin with ease as he stands. “ Waiting for you. How’d it go?”

Liam only shrugs back in response. “Alright I guess. Set the chair on fire, but I put it out pretty quickly. Or uh, quicker than last time. So um, progress.”

He says it lightly, a smile still on his lips. Zayn doesn’t feel fear from the other lad, but it isn’t quite a happy feeling either.

“That’s good,” Zayn assures him, sliding his arm around his lower back as they walk out of the office.

Liam doesn’t hesitate to curl his arm around Zayn’s shoulders. “Yeah, I guess so. I also um, well. I also agreed to talk to my father. He asked again, sent a letter to Malay or summat.”

Zayn whips his head to look at Liam. He still hasn’t processed the fact that Liam’s father is the one who had murdered all those people, his worry for Liam’s safety and being responsible for scarring him always coming to the front of his mind when he thinks about the man. It makes his stomach turn just thinking about him being near Liam.

“What?” he blurts.

He grimaces slightly, eyes falling to the floor. “Yeah. It is growing. You know that bad feeling? Malay feels it too. He thinks I can get it out of him how he is doing it, or like, what he wants, you know?”

“No,” Zayn says sternly, stopping Liam. “You can’t go see him.”

“He can’t hurt me,” Liam insists, taking Zayn’s hands into his own. “And Malay also thinks like, if I meet him and ask him about what happened to me, maybe it will help me get over everything that fogs up my mind and makes it so hard for me to focus.”

Zayn sighs, wanting to continue protesting but he knows he can’t. “What did your mum say?”

Liam’s grimace worsens. “Well, I haven’t told her. I haven’t talked to her at all actually, since. You know. It was Malay who informed her about everything. I didn’t ask what she said.”

Zayn sighs, tugging Liam forward so he can hug him. “If he hurts you I’ll kill him.”

Liam laughs wetly, squeezing him tight. “You couldn’t hurt a fly babe, come on. Setting stuff on fire makes me hungry.”

The rain drizzles down on their shoulders as they step outside, the clouds dark above them. He knows it makes Liam anxious, and not just because he can feel it, it is the twitch in his fingers against his back, the way he constantly glances up at the sky with his teeth dragging obsessively over his bottom lip.

It makes him anxious too. Which is probably what Liam’s father wants, to put them on _edge_. Zayn is just confused as to why. Liam had told him Malay said he wasn’t harmed in the fire, but the scars covering Liam’s body make him think otherwise.

Because thinking of Liam being in that situation once is horrifying and heartbreaking, thinking about there being another time too kills him.

“What was bothering you?” Liam says suddenly, tearing his eyes from the sky.

Zayn raises his brows, lips parting around nothing as he tries to come up with a lie. Or at least, something other than their roommates calling him out on his feelings. “Er, our roommates you know. Being asses, again.”

Liam’s lips tug down instantly. “Who? What’d they do?”

“Nothing,” Zayn promises, shifting his fingers into the spaces between Liam’s. “They’re just being you know, them.”

Liam isn’t satisfied with this answer, and Zayn regrets even bringing it up when they get back to the dorm and Liam immediately mentions it to the others. Normally, Liam standing up for him is endearing but right now he wants to kick him in the shin, and then to hide in a hole in another country the moment it leaves Liam’s lips.

“What’d you do to upset Zayn?” Liam asks as he walks into the living room, Niall and Harry’s eyes looking up at him. Harry sits between Niall’s legs where he sits on the couch, a pole cat sleeping in his lap. His words aren’t aggressive but there is a protectiveness about Liam that makes Zayn want to melt into his back.

“Not me,” Niall mumbles through his mouth full of food before he swallows. “I think that is all you, mate.”

Liam’s face crumples as he glances at Zayn in confusion. Zayn only shakes his head in response, Niall’s words taking him by surprise.

“What did I do?”

“Nothing,” Zayn insists, glaring at Niall. A chill takes over his spine and it takes everything in him not to let it wash over him, and make Liam even more confused. “Food, yeah?”

“Come on,” Niall complains, wiping at his mouth, which is pulled up into a grin. “Just tell him, Zayn. Tell him what’s got your panties all in a twist.”

Liam looks at him again, but this time Zayn can’t keep down the chill that quickly rushes over him. He considers punching Niall but instead he leaves the room. But visible or not, Liam follows after him.

“I don’t understand,” Liam tells him quietly behind him. He hates the expression taking over his face, the same one he wears when he is struggling with his insecurities. “If I did something -”

“You didn’t,” Zayn interrupts, pushing into his room and Liam follows. He contemplates the best way to get away with murdering his roommates without Malay being upset with him. “You didn’t.”

His voice sounds a bit more desperate than he means it to, but he doesn’t want Liam to think he did anything wrong because of Niall. The only thing he did was reach into Zayn’s chest and take his heart, but he isn’t _mad_ about that.

“Then tell me what he is talking about,” Liam insists, closing the door behind him. His eyes dart all over the place as his hands push into the pockets of his pants. “‘Cause I’m confused.”

Zayn huffs out, heart thumping heavily in his chest. Liam’s cheeks are burning red, sweat collecting at his brow and he can feel the mix of emotions flooding through him. They flood through him too, making his skin hot but not burning.

He can say it, it is at the tip of his tongue. But nerves rush through him so quickly now that he is so close to doing it that it makes his throat tight, his confidence seeping away even underneath his shield. Scout said it was easy, to just let it out, but it feels like the hardest thing he has ever done.

“I don’t want to upset you.”

Liam huffs out a strangled sound. “You can’t. With everything going on, I just - I need you, Zayn. Whatever it is doesn’t matter to how badly I need you. And if it is something I did than I can fix it, easy. No sweat.”

It rings loudly in his ears, a chant in his mind. “You need me?”

Liam frowns, taking a step forward though Zayn is more to his right. “‘Course I do. I can’t get through any of this without you. Nothing will change that, I can’t even like - I’m trying to figure out what this is about and I am coming up blank here, Zayn. I just know it doesn’t matter, whatever it is you can tell me.”

Zayn takes a hesitant step forward, a million different things going through his head that he can say. He has gone over and over them again, but they all disappear from him now, just the _I love you_ the only thing still there.

“Babe,” Liam says softly, his eyes following him though they are just slightly off as Zayn walks up closer to him. “Don’t hide from me.”

“You didn’t do anything,” Zayn breathes when their chests are only a few inches apart. “The others were teasing me about how I feel about you.”

Liam stills, his expression softening some as his eyes land on him like he can see him. Zayn glances down, making sure he is still invisible as he swallows thickly. “What do you mean?”

Zayn huffs out, sliding his palms over Liam’s burning chest and tickling them over his sweat coated neck. “Liam, I don’t have the courage to say it. If you don’t feel the same way, if it ruins us. I just, all I need is you, too. So if this isn’t - like, the same with you, we can just pretend it didn’t happen please?”

Liam’s head tilts slightly so that his lips are in line with his own. He doesn’t say anything for a moment, his hand reaching out blindingly to tickle against his hips. “Zayn -”

Zayn doesn’t think about it, doesn’t hesitate to press his lips to Liam’s to cut off whatever he is going to say. A rush of air passes Liam’s lips as he gasps, allowing Zayn to slot their lips together just right. He kisses the other lad firmly, for a long moment without a reaction from Liam and it makes his heart sink into chest.

He pulls back, taking in Liam’s eyelashes fluttering against his cheekbones, his parted slick lips. How beautiful he is, and how _silent_.

Liam reaches up blindingly, fingers hitting under his chin before tentatively moving them until they are cupping his cheeks. His eyes flick open as he rubs under Zayn’s bottom lip, eyes warm with something he can’t ever read but is too familiar to him. Liam always looks at him like that, and he needs it to mean something.

“Please let me see you,” Liam whispers, his voice desperate sounding. “Please.”

Zayn exhales shakily as he lets go of the cover keeping him away from Liam. Liam blinks again when he is revealed, but there is no other hesitation in the way he pushes his lips back onto Zayn’s. It is bruising, a hard press of the lips that rips the breath from his lungs.

The heat deepens, warming through his chest and settling in his belly. It lights flames all inside of him, even sizzling in the tips of his fingers that he digs into the back of Liam’s neck. It is consuming, he feels consumed by Liam as he presses their bodies together as much as possible, lips dancing together like they were made to do so. His chest expands at the thought, heart beating erratically and he can feel Liam’s in sync with his own.

A frantic knock on the door rips them apart, a soft gasp passing both of their lips. Zayn can’t look away from the soft look on Liam’s face as he looks back at him. Liam’s thumbs rub against his cheeks, like he is trying to feel the warmth of his skin instead of the heat that is constantly attached to his own.

“Liam!” Ned yells, angry sounding. “What are you doing? The fucking couch just caught on fire.”

Liam’s eyes crinkle as he blurts out a quiet laugh. Zayn can’t stop the bubble of laughter leaving his own lips, feeling more relief than amusement.

“I do feel the same way,” Liam murmurs, pressing a quick kiss to his lips before he is pulling away. There is a flame in his eyes that crackles bright before he opens the door, revealing a furious looking Ned. “Sorry mate.”

Ned glances over Liam’s shoulder at Zayn before he throws his hands up in frustration. “Great. I regret telling you to talk to him about how you feel. I’m not burning to death because of this, I'll move out.”

The fire is out by the time they get to it, the couch scarred but not destroyed. Niall had ran into the kitchen, head poked around the corner with Harry’s above him. The smell of burnt fabric is strong, making them all pinch their noses shut.

“So,” Niall says, his voice high pitched from his nose pinch as Zayn crowds up against Liam’s back to hide his laughter. “I’m guessing Zayn told you he is in love with you then, huh?”

Harry claps his hand around his mouth, tucking his laughter against Niall’s hair.

“Yeah,” Ned grumbles, arms crossed. “Is that all this took? What happens if you fuck?”

Heat flares off of Liam as embarrassment takes over Zayn, eyes clenching shut as he rattles with laughter. “Let’s go, Zayn,” Liam says softly, turning to wrap his arms around him. A soft smile takes over his lips before he coaxes a soft kiss to his own, creating a grumble of coos from behind them.

“Liam!” Ned shouts in complaint. “Not the chair too, bro!”

+*

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Zayn glances up at Liam, whose eyes are stitched to the palm he traces shapes against with the tip of his finger. They aren’t supposed to be outside, but they stay hidden amongst a few trees behind their dorm. Just to be alone and not accidentally set anymore furniture on fire, though he is worried about the trees.

Zayn shrugs, teeth knicking at his bottom lip. “I didn’t think you felt the same way.”

Liam snorts loudly, eyes flicking up his face and there is nothing but amusement in them. “Well, I _used_ to think you were the smartest person I know.”

“Hey,” Zayn grumbles, shifting his palm over Liam’s cheek to drag him into another kiss. He feels addicted to the taste of Liam’s lips, like every second they aren’t molded against his own is a moment wasted. Like the tightness in his chest can only be soothed by the drag over Liam’s lips against his.

“It’s always been obvious,” Liam mumbles against his lips, reaching up to cup his neck and stroke his thumb over his pulse. “Whenever I’m around you, everyone starts sweating and they all know it is because of you.”

“You make me nervous,” Zayn interrupts cautiously. “Do you wonder why everytime I try to tell you something I feel I turn invisible?”

Liam pushes his hand under Zayn’s chin, tilting it up some. “You don’t have to hide from me, babe.”

Zayn nods slightly, lips tugging up as he slides his palm cautiously onto Liam’s thigh. “Does that mean when Ned said you think about dick, you were thinking about mine?”

Liam groans in complaint before pushing their lips back together, quieting the laugh that rolls of of Zayn’s tongue.

His teeth grip at his bottom lip before his tongue trails over him, dragging a loud gasp from Zayn’s throat. The gasp only seems to encourage Liam as he shifts over him, hand planting firm to his cheek to keep him close. Zayn tilts his head to kiss Liam deeper, lips wrapping around the tongue pressing between them to pull it in. The sound that follows is lovely, dragging a prickle of arousal down his spine.

He has thought of this a thousand times before, what it would be like to have Liam’s lips on his own, to cause the other lad to make the quiet groans he makes now. To feel their chests pressed together, consumed by the pulse of Liam’s heart beat, but it isn’t anything like he has ever imagined. The feeling that takes over him is addictive, unlike anything he has ever felt before.

Liam pulls away, rubbing a thumb across Zayn’s swollen bottom lip as his heavy lidded eyes follow the movement. “It was you, thinking about you that helped me find the source of my power. And you, thinking of your touch, that helps me control it.”

Zayn scans over Liam’s face, taking in his expression which is softer than it has ever been. “Why didn’t you want to tell me?”

Liam laughs quietly. “Guess I’m just as not smart as you.”

Zayn snorts, shoving him playfully. They are at the tip of his tongue, the words he still hasn’t said yet. He hesitates, only a little as he grips into Liam’s shirt. “You know I like you, a lot Liam.”

Liam’s eyes fall shut with the force of his smile that he hides against Zayn’s lips. “I like you a lot too.”

A small cough from in front of them drags their lips away from each other. A guardian stands there, arms crossed and his mouth not moving as he speaks. “Sorry to interrupt, Mr. Payne but you need to be in your dorm. Curfew.”

Liam groans before pulling up, hand catching on Zayn’s to help him to his feet. A rush of embarrassed heat runs through his fingers. “Right, er - sorry.”

“Inside, please.”

Zayn tucks his laugh against Liam’s shoulder, a spark of nerves in his belly from having to be around their roommates again. Liam wraps an arm around his back like he knows.

+*

Liam flicks the light off before padding over to the bed, the moonlight from outside casting over where Zayn lays there waiting for him. He feels as if a weight has been lifted off of his shoulders, the  constant flutter in his heart comforting now that he no longer has to fight off the urge to kiss Zayn. He just can.

And he does, leaning over Zayn to press a kiss to his forehead before Zayn’s hands are folding over his hips to tug him onto the bed with him. It is difficult, fighting off the heat that consumes him as their chests press together, Zayn’s lips not hesitating to find his own. He feels as if he could kiss the other lad for the rest of his life and never get tired of it. Even if his lips bruise and swell he still wouldn’t want to pull away.

Zayn’s fingers card through the hair at the back of his head as he pushes his lips to part Zayn’s, tongue flicking over his teeth. He can feel Zayn’s lips push into a smile, a soft laugh against his lips before Liam pushes his tongue between them.

He savors every sigh rolling past the other’s tongue, the way his cold hand shifts across his back as Liam crawls over him. His touch is the only thing cooling the flame over his skin, and he tries to absorb that coldness, letting it soak over his skin but it doesn’t quiet the fire in his belly.

“Liam,” Zayn murmurs quietly as Liam shifts his lips under his jaw, coaxing a soft kiss over his pulse. He doesn’t want to move fast, but he feels addicted to every kiss, every touch of Zayn’s skin. “I can feel your heartbeat.”

“What?” Liam asks, resting an elbow beside Zayn’s head so he can look down at the other man.

“Like,” Zayn says, eyes darting away from him. “On my skin. I don’t know how to explain it.”

Liam smiles, nudging his nose against Zayn’s. “I can feel yours, too.”

Zayn parts his lips against his own, his hand dragging down to his hip. He just rests his fingers there, but Liam presses them down hesitantly.

A soft groan rushes past his lips as his fingers dig into his skin. “What do you think that means?”

“I don’t know,” Liam says quietly. There is an urge rushing through him to grind his hips down, but the heat taking over his limbs makes him hesitant to. A spark of fear rushes through him that he is going to cause another fire being with Zayn like this.

Zayn rocks his hips up against his as he lets out a shaky moan. His expression must change because Zayn stills, head pushing further into the pillow so he can scan his eyes over Liam’s face.

“I’m sorry.”

Liam shakes his head, leaning forward to press a kiss to the corner of his mouth. “Don’t be. I just don’t want to burn you. Or erm, anything.”

Zayn giggles again, his fingers scraping over the start of Liam’s joggers at the bottom of his spine. “We can practice, a lot.”

Liam laughs, tucking his lips against Zayn’s throat again. He scrapes his teeth over the sensitive skin, earning another flutter of a moan.

He drags his palm down Zayn’s side to grip his hip, keeping them pressed together as he rolls down against him. There is a moan bundling up in his throat, the arousal pouring through him making it difficult to focus on anything but the touch of Zayn. It grows colder against his back as Zayn lets out another moan, this one louder in the quiet room.

He is careful working his teeth over Zayn’s skin, tongue flicking out to smooth over every bite that makes Zayn gasp. Zayn’s fingers dig into his back as his hips work back against him, their bodies moving steadily together.

“Zayn,” Liam murmurs, pulling back with the intention of shifting off Zayn’s shirt when he sees nothing but the pillow and ruffled blankets underneath him.

“Yeah?” He hears, his voice soft but overwhelmed. He can feel Zayn’s hands moving over his torso, and he frowns. “What is it?”

“You don’t need to hide from me,” Liam murmurs. “I want to see you, yeah?”

Zayn reappears with an embarrassed look on his face. “I didn’t mean to.”

“S’okay,” Liam assures him, pushing a hand underneath his shirt. Zayn pushes up, taking the hint as he pulls the material off of him.

Liam grips Zayn’s jaw, pulling their lips back together as he guides Zayn back down against the mattress. The arousal twists hot in his belly, sweat trailing down his spine and it makes his chest heave as he tries to breathe it away.

He is achingly hard, and rolling his hips down he can feel the hard of Zayn’s length against him. It makes his heart race, and he wonders if Zayn can feel it too.

“I do get you quite hot,” Zayn says quietly, his voice raspy. His words go straight to Liam’s navel, pushing a soft moan past his lips. “It feels good.”

“Yeah?” Liam breathes against Zayn’s lips.

Zayn nods, cupping the back of his neck. “Maybe you need to embrace and not fight it off. Maybe that, maybe that will help?”

“Or I might burn down the building,” Liam says weakly before biting hard on his bottom lip to fight off the flare that erupts in his palm.

Zayn pushes up, guiding him so Liam’s back is half on the mattress and half on the cool wall beside his bed. He presses their chests back together, fingers tracing shapes down his side and over his scarred skin. “We can take it slow.”

Liam’s chest heaves as he rubs his thumb across Zayn’s bottom lip. “It’s hard when I want you, so badly.”

Zayn groans quietly, lips wrapping around the round of his thumb. There is a flame in his own eyes as his lips tilt upward around the digit.

Liam groans quietly. “You’re not helping.”

Zayn huffs out a laugh as Liam moves his thumb away, hand warming over his body because he needs to touch the other lad. “Maybe we should just sleep, yeah? Make it less er - _hard_ , and keep to kisses until we can get those to be a little less dangerous.”

Liam snorts as Zayn pushes into his side to press a kiss to his chest. He presses his eyes closed, trying to rid the arousal coursing through him. “I didn’t think I could hate my ability anymore than I already do, but I was wrong.”

Zayn bites him gently. “Now you just have motivation to get it under control.”

Liam huffs out a sarcastic laugh, curling his arm around Zayn as he shifts to get more comfortable. Even though he knows he isn’t going to be any more comfortable, not with the pressure heavy between his legs.

“Shut up,” he grumbles. Zayn rests against his shoulder, fingers tracing over his chest.

“I can feel your emotions too,” Zayn tells him quietly. “Like, I know when you’re hot because you’re upset, or sad. Or um, aroused.”

He falls hot again, stomach twisting with embarrassment.

“And uh, embarrassed,” Zayn laughs, sliding his palm over Liam’s heart. “You don’t have to be. No hiding from me, either, yeah?”

Liam nods, shifting to his side so he can wrap his arms around Zayn properly. He focuses on that, how it feels to have Zayn against him like this, his feelings matching his own, to distract himself. “Then how come you’ve never felt the way I feel about you?”

Zayn falls quiet for a moment before he shrugs. “I guess, I don’t know. I never realized.”

“You get it now, yeah?”

Zayn nods, peppering a soft kiss to his throat. “I do.”

“And you? How do you feel again I forgot.”

Zayn groans in complaint, tucking his face against Liam’s chest. “I have a big ol’ crush on you Liam.”

Liam hides his grin in the hair at the top of his head. “Oh yeah? Me too, but like - on you.”

+*

It is an eery place, the prison. He is surrounded by stone walls, more guardians than he has ever seen in his life. They aren’t friendly, barely even acknowledging his and Malay’s presence. The power pulsing through the place makes him nauseous, causing the hair to stick up at the back of his neck.

He feels bad for not telling Zayn he was going to see his father today, having tip toed out of his bedroom to hurriedly get ready to meet up with Malay. He just knew the other lad would worry, would try to convince him not to go and Liam would probably listen to him.

And he would feel the fear running through him. He doesn’t know how Zayn can feel his emotions, but it is strong. He can’t use his power here, and he feels cold, almost to the point it hurts. He has heard it does things to people, losing their powers. That there is a section in the prison for people who can’t stop the screams of discomfort because of it. He understands at the moment, because he wants to scream until the warmth floods back through him and keeps his skin from trembling.  

“You’re alright,” Malay assures from beside him, patting him on the knee. “You don’t have to talk to him if you don’t want to. You can change your mind at any point.”

Liam nods, swallowing thickly. “I, I can do it.”

“You’re safe,” Malay assures him firmly. He has grown to like the Headmaster a lot more over their sessions, growing more patient with the old man. He feels bad for having been irritated with him, since there is no reason for the Headmaster to be so patient in helping him. “Do you want me to come in with you?”

Liam shakes his head, teeth gripping over his bottom lip. His mother had insisted on coming, but he had asked Malay not to tell her when they were going. “I’m okay.”

Another guardian steps out, this one with their whole face covered rather than just their mouth. “Payne.”

Liam swallows thickly, panic rushing through him as he stands. Malay follows suit, hand pressing into the bottom of his back. “Liam, can I ask one favor?”

Liam nods, turning over his shoulder to take in the serious expression on Malay’s face.

“Don’t mention Zayn.”

He doesn’t have enough time to ask Malay why he shouldn’t as the guardian urges him past a set of doors they had opened with a large metal key attached to their hip. The building becomes even creepier, the silence in the hallway only interrupted by the heavy clank of the guardian’s boots, the air growing even colder.

The hallway seems to go on forever until they are unlocking another door. He is thankful that his power is gone at the moment, afraid that the nerves bundling through him would set the guardians on fire if it wasn’t. When he had been searched he had flamed up so badly the guardians had to step past the barrier of the prison in order to continue.

“Through here, Mr. Payne.”

Liam sucks in a long breath as the guardian opens the last door. It reveals an empty room, with a window the length of the wall across from him, sat behind a long table. There is a chair in front of him, and directly opposite on the other side of the mirror.

Liam sits, his hands clammy as he rubs them against his pants. It doesn’t take long before the door on the other side of the window is opening, and everything he has planned to say to his father disappears.

He doesn’t recognize him as he is shuffled in with more guardians, though he can see his own features in his face. His eyes, and the round of his nose are all his. There is a cold look on his face that the man tries to wash away with the quirk of his lips but it looks more twisted than warm.

Liam can’t tear his eyes away as he sits across from him. The fear worsens as he remembers the way he had fought with the guardians when they took him away, the way he bent down in front of him before they arrived and told him to hide away the way Mummy taught him.

“Liam.”

The voice sounding through the small speaker looking circle between them in the window makes him bite down hard on his bottom lip as not to gasp out. His father rests his hands on the desk, a soft look taking over his cold one.

“I am so happy you came.”

Liam swallows, forcing himself to speak. “Why did you want to talk to me?”

He darts his eyes everywhere but his father's face, trying to calm the nausea twisting through his gut. “You’re my boy, I want to know you.”

Liam huffs out a laugh, created from the hatred that bubbles in his chest. “I think you ruined that  yourself mate, yeah?”

There is no flicker of reaction from the man, his face still lacking any emotion for Liam to read. “I want to tell you I am sorry.”

“For what?” Liam asks, finally looking at him. “For killing kids trying to hurt me?”

“I wasn’t trying to hurt you,” Geoff insists. He seems calm, a lot calmer than Liam feels and he can’t help but wonder how his father has been able to control his emotions. A _murderer_ who hurt him out of anger can, yet he can’t.

“But you did.”

Geoff looks at him for a long moment. “I am sorry for that, too. I was trying to make up for it, but your Aunt Rose wouldn't let me see you. So I went to the daycare.”

Liam looks back, running over the thoughts in his head. Only one matters at the moment. “Then why did you?”

Geoff sighs, resting back against his chair. For a second his expression reminds him of one he had forgotten, his father's fingers tucking through his hair as he was falling asleep. They had read a book about dinosaurs, he can still see the bright colorful pages of the book. But then it is gone again.

“I had no control, Liam. As soon as I realized I had burned you, I did everything in my power to make sure I wouldn’t do it again.”

“By burning down a daycare. By killing children.”

Geoff shakes his head. “That was an accident, as well. There is so much more thay you don’t know, Liam. It is Ho’s influence on you. He paints me to be violent, yet he never took the time to help me control myself. Those deaths are partly his fault, as well.”

Liam doesn’t respond, remembering how Malay had said how unwilling his father had been to learn control. He wants to believe him, but his scar itches as if it is telling him not to.

“I take responsibility,” Geoff says, lips tugging down as if he is attempting to look regretful before his eyes flicker with an anger that Liam has seen in his own. “But Malay had it out for me the moment I stepped into that school. And the moment I left. I can’t begin to list the amount of crimes he has accused me of. Him and the Maliks. I begged them for help to, they had the tools to do so but yet they refused.”

Liam sinks back into his chair, letting his eyes fall to his lap as he tries to process that. He says _Maliks_ with the same disgusted, hated tone his mother uses when she says their name. It makes his chest feel heavy, as he thinks about Zayn’s crooked smile and the way his face always shines with a kindness that makes him think his heart is a superhuman power, too.

“I have to go,” Liam says suddenly, trying to keep his voice calm and not toxic like he wants it to be. A surge of protectiveness fills him, and he just wants to stitch his father’s lips shut so he never can say Zayn’s surname again. “This was a waste of time.”

“I can help you,” Geoff blurts as Liam pushes up from his chair, the guardians already shifting behind his father to escort him out. “Control it. That is also why I wanted to see you, son.”

Liam shakes his head grimly. “The only reason you found control is because the Malik’s created a device to mute your power. You should be grateful to them, not hateful.”

He walks out without looking back, having the guardians escort him to the bathroom before he goes out with Malay. He runs the water as hot as possible before cupping his hands underneath the faucet. It does little to ease the ache running through him, it barely even warms his fingers.

Malay stands up quickly when he approaches, eyebrows stitched together in worry. “What happened? I was expecting you to be in there for the whole hour.”

Liam huffs out a laugh, letting Malay wrap the arm he holds out around him. “I don’t want to be like him. I didn’t ask him anything to help you, I’m sorry.”

Malay cups the back of his head, soothing his fingers over his hairline. “It’s okay son. And you won’t, Liam. I know you won’t.”

 

The train station is busy, the dense crowd filled with people trying to catch their train and clumps of people waiting for theirs. But the sound of the footsteps and chatter around him seems quiet compared to the thoughts in his head. Seeing his father has dragged out memories of him, ones of them in their yard with a blond dog as he tried to teach Liam how to play footie. One night, a soft smile on his lips as he told Liam that he needn't be afraid of his dreams, they weren't real.

But he doesn't _want_ these memories. He doesn't want any reason to reconsider the hate spiraling in his gut for his father. It is a word his mother used to tell him never to say, but it is the word that he replays over and over in his head whenever he thinks of his father’s eyes, the same as his but the flame in them has burnt out.

Liam sighs, shifting back against the bench. Malay had gone off to find something to eat, and a cup of ice to cool his burning skin before their train arrived. But it fills him with relief, having the warmth back soaking through him even though the tick of his fingers against the bench have left black scarred marks behind.

He tries to calm it as a woman takes the spot beside him, focusing on dragging the heat out of him through his solar plexus. But it just makes it feel as if the emotion in his chest is rushing up into his throat, threatening to spill out a sob. Or the breakfast he had barely eaten on the train ride here.

“Excuse me,” the lady says beside him, making Liam rub quickly at his eyes. She touches his thigh lightly, unaffected by how hot his skin burns underneath his dress pants. “Liam, is it?”

Liam stiffens. He doesn't know her though something is recognizable about her. She has kind eyes surrounded by deep wrinkles and an even kinder smile. Her reddish hair is streaked with gray though she looks relatively young.

“Don't be afraid,” she utters, her words coming out quick. “But I need to speak to you, quickly before your Headmaster returns.”

“I - who are you?”

She shakes her head, quieting him. Her eyes dart around for a moment before she curls her cool fingers around his wrist. It is almost hard to hear her over the crowd with how quiet she drops her voice.

“Your father, he isn't after you. He is after _power_ , do you understand?”

Liam parts his lips, shaking his head. He wants to call for Malay but at the same time he trusts her, a comfort surging through him through her fingertips. It should be a red flag, a reason not to trust the woman he doesn't know but he feels drawn to her.

“He - he is at Inis.”

“Not for long, I think,” she whispers urgently.

“Whose power does he want?”

“No one's yet. He needs to create it first,” she explains. Her eyes dart over his head before she is pulling away, but Liam grabs her wrist in panic.

“How?”

“Through fear. And then once he gets it, he will go for the strongest of power.”

“Who?” Liam blurts out in panic, standing up after as she takes a step away. The look on her face makes his chest ache, his name echoing in his mind before it passes her lips.

“Zayn’s.”

*+

The rain pounds against the window, but the sound of it goes unheard under the cracks and shatters of the thunder rolling in the sky. Between them is the sound of the wind, gushing outside loudly and quickly, the trees blowing almost violently because of it. Zayn stares at it dismally, legs tucked to his chest.

It has been like this since he woke, in an empty bed with sheets still holding onto Liam’s warmth like they knew he wanted to wake up to it. He knows where he went even though Liam never told him he was going to Inis so soon. It has made him on edge, the way he can't feel Liam but he knows he is probably upset.

He feels exhausted, though too afraid to tuck himself in and fall asleep. He had another nightmare when he had fallen back asleep earlier, and it had felt real again with the fear he felt when a man with an unrecognizable flame grabbed his cheeks with angry fingers.

Ned across from him shifts uncomfortably across his bed, an agitated look on his face as he constantly fiddles with his earphones. He has been on edge all day too, keeping mostly to himself and the agitated look has only grown worse as the hours have passed.

“What is it?” Zayn asks, tearing his eyes from the water droplets sliding across the window pane. Ned doesn't seem to hear him, but he cusses loudly as he rips his earphones out.

“What the fuck _is_ that?” He exclaims, hands flying up to press against his face.

“What?” Zayn asks in confusion.

Ned shakes his head, hands rubbing against his face. “The screaming, it won't stop.”

Zayn shifts tentatively from his bed then. There is nothing but the sound of the storm outside. His roommates have all hidden themselves in their rooms, stuck inside because of it and the curfew. It is always maddening on the weekends, when there are no classes to free themselves from their room.

“I don't hear anything.”

Ned looks at him then, tears watering in his eyes. “It's just getting louder, she won't shut the fuck up.”

“Who?” Zayn pushes, sliding onto Ned’s bed to press his palm to his forehead. He isn't hot despite the red taking over his face. He tries not to show the alarm running through him but Ned barely seems to be aware of him anyway. “What is she saying?”

“I don't know,” Ned says, voice panic stricken. “It isn't even English it's like - ignem? Pluit ignem. Some shit.”

“Latin,” Zayn informs him softly. “Ignem is fire.”

His mind races to translate pluit, but the noise around him makes it hard to focus. Worry blossoms through him as Ned cups his ears, eyes clenching shut as another crack shatters through the room, this time closer.

The thunder disappears from his ears as he screams, the sound tugging deep from his gut as a sharp, stabbing pain runs across his back. It feels as if pieces of glass have dug their way into his skin. The throbbing pain makes him feel sick but he can't do anything but scream.

Ned clutches his face, fear burning bright in his eyes as the pain rocks through him. Zayn can’t move because of it, can’t hear the words passing Ned’s lips over his screams before his roommate disappear and everything around him goes black. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had a crazy stressful week, and I completely forgot to send this chapter to my beta so I apologize in advance for any typos & things like that.
> 
> Thank you again for reading!

The loud voices around him are dull in his ears. His heart beats too loudly against them, making it hard to understand the words leaving Ned’s fast moving lips. There is a panic in his roommate’s eyes that matches the same feeling in Liam’s chest. The feeling has only grown worse since they had gotten the call from the school, despite Malay’s attempts at remaining calm as they rushed home.

The Headmaster’s calm demeanor slipped the moment they walked into the infirmary, and his face has only grown more enraged and his eyes worried the more Ned and the Head Healer speak to him.

Ned's hands fly up in front of him as he talks to Malay, and the red over his fingers and speckled across his multi colored shirt makes Liam’s stomach twist angrily. No one seems to notice him, unaware of the heat he feels growing in the room before he rushes out of it.

Liam practically trips over his feet as he moves through the hallways of the infirmary, passing Healers’ wide eyes without care. He can feel it, the flutter of Zayn’s heart beat, and it pulls him forward like nothing else around him matters.

And he can feel the pain too. It crosses over his back, like thick knives digging into his skin. It makes him choke out as he stumbles forward, his feet seemingly moving on their own before he pushes open a door that he just _knows_ Zayn is behind.

“Mr. Payne! You can't be in here!”

The Healer plants their hand to his chest before pulling away with a loud gasp. His eyes narrow at Liam, but he can't focus on him.

Behind him, on a too small of bed, Zayn lays with bandages covering his back. A Healer stands beside him, removing a blood soaked one and revealing a wound so deep it makes his nausea grow worse.

“Mr. Payne,” the Healer says, hands held out hesitantly in front of him. Bright streaks of pink and broken skin break the brown of his palms, his fingers shaking some as he tried to get Liam’s attention. “I need you to go outside.”

“Zayn -” is all Liam can say in response. The tears pouring over his eyelids make it hard to see him, to even see the Healer whose face fills his vision.

“Is okay,” the Healer assures him, but there is urgency in his voice. “But you need to calm down before you burn this building down, Liam.”

Liam sucks in a harsh breath, suddenly aware of the flames dancing over his shoulders. The disappear instantly as he lets out a quiet sob, a choked out apology that softens the Healer’s features.

“He doesn't feel okay,” Liam breathes out. His heart beat is so soft and weak in compared to Liam’s fast and heavy beating one.

“He is,” the Healer insists.

Liam doesn't have time to respond before the door is opening again, and this time Malay is the one pushing through, wearing the same green uniform the Healers wear.

“Mr. Payne, please wait outside,” the Headmaster says without looking at him. No one stops him from approaching Zayn, from walking around to the other side of the bed and crouching down in front of him.

There is a sad look in Malay’s eyes as he gently pushes his gloved fingers over the hair against Zayn’s forehead. A look of relief fills his eyes, but his brows push together roughly. “He is okay, I can feel it.”

Liam huffs out, pushing outside before the Healer can tell him to go again. He doesn’t move far though, keeping his back against the wall beside the door and his attention on Zayn’s heart.

_+*_

_The fire crawls up the walls, trailing across the floor like the waves on top of the ocean, and only a  few inches away from his feet. He hides behind something solid, taller than himself and he wishes he could press himself into it, hide like his mum always tells him to._

_The yelling hurts his ears as he covers them with his hands, choking back the tears he was scolded for shedding. “Stop, stop, stop,” chants past his lips but it goes unheard over the voices. They are loud and angry sounding._

_He screams as the fire rushes over his feet, but it doesn't burn like it has before. He runs anyway, trying to escape the flames that lick up his legs._

_“Boy!” A man yells as the fire disappears. The pain comes then, excruciating over the side of him. He was told not to make a sound but he can't help it as he struggles to get away. It rips from his throat, almost as painful as the burn that makes him scream in the first place._

_He crumples forward suddenly as the man behind him falls back, but it makes the flames around them grow. Thin fingers slide over his wet cheeks as kind eyes fill his vision, her voice unheard over the shouts behind him._

_“You can have it just go! Stop hurting him!”_

 

Zayn blinks his eyes until the blurring from sleep is gone, focusing on the steady beeping around him and the strong smell of cleaning chemicals filling his nose. His body feels stiff, his face heavy and eyes swollen. His throat feels like sandpaper, painful as he swallows.

The last thing he remembers is Ned’s hands on his face, the petrified look in his eyes but it must have been him who had called for the Healers, placing him here. He feels like he has been asleep for forever, but yet he feels like he needs to sleep more.

A door opens but Zayn doesn't move from where he lays on his belly, facing the too white of walls and the machines that won't shut up. There is no pain in his back but the memory of it has him tensing, mixing in with the pain that had scorched his skin in his nightmares.

Warm brown eyes come into view as Liam kneels behind him, a soft smile on his lips and Zayn's tears rush into his throat as relief rushes through him.

“You okay?” Liam whispers. Exhaustion grips at his features but the warmth still burns brightly in his eyes.

“What happened?” Zayn whispers back, his voice scratchy. Liam moves then, padding away.

“Ned said the storm shattered the window. The Healers pulled out six pieces of glass,” he explains before he comes back with a cup of water. Zayn hesitantly pushes up onto his elbows, but no pain follows the movement. “But I don't know.”

He tries to reach for the cup but Liam’s hand is on his chin, tilting his head before he guides the cup to his lips. “What does that mean?” Zayn asks before holding his mouth open for him

Liam looks hesitant for a moment. “It just doesn't make sense, you know? But I haven’t really focused on it too much, thinking about you getting hurt makes me sick and makes my brain hurt.”

Zayn doesn't reply as he lays back flat on the cot, the cool liquid have eased the uncomfortable feeling in his throat only somewhat. It doesn't make sense, but nothing really seems to as of late. “You’re tired, babe. How was seeing your dad?”

He can feel the wash of sadness drifting off of Liam, but the other lad doesn't respond. He only smiles softly again. “You know what is strange?”

Zayn shakes his head, reaching out to take Liam’s hand into his own in case he needs the comfort of his touch.

“Your skin isn't scarred. There is no sign of it even happening. Like, the Healers said they came to check on you this morning and your wounds? They were just gone.”

Zayn frowns before trying to shift from the bed so he can look but Liam pulls their hands close to his chest to keep him there. “How?”

Liam shrugs. “Same thing with Scout, I reckon.”

He should be relieved, but instead his mind just twists with more confusion and he buries his face into the cot as if that can help him hide away from it all. Because they don’t know _why_ Scout’s wound on their arm healed so quickly.

Liam chuckles quietly. “Why are you hiding?”

Zayn’s response is a muffled grumble that just makes Liam laugh more. His hand brushes over the back of his head before he feels Liam’s lips on his cheeks.

“Well,” the other man says quietly. “I am happy they are gone. I set fire to the bin by the front desk when they wouldn't let me see you. Malay was worried seeing the wounds would make me accidentally set the infirmary on fire, and I almost did. Burned the Healer.”

Zayn turns his head then. “Liam,” he complains, but Liam's lips are on his to quiet his words.

“I'm happy you're okay,” Liam whispers so quietly against his lips he can barely hear him.

 

A few hours later the Healers allow him to leave, after more bloodwork and tests, and lots of fingers pushing uncomfortably into the skin of his back. The campus is quiet as everyone is in class and Liam guides him to Malay’s house like he knows that is where he wants to go.

“You should have seen Malay,” Liam says as they truck through the front door. “He was in an uproar, Ned looked like he was about to shit his pants.”

“That's not funny,” Zayn says as he laughs, kicking his shoes off by the door.

“I know it isn't, I just have this relief in my chest that makes me feel. Well, I don't know,” Liam chuckles, brows raising high to his hairline as a shy look crosses his face. “Malay kept telling him it didn't make any sense, that Ned was leaving bits out but he apologized I guess. I've never seen Malay like that before.”

Zayn slides his hands over Liam’s hot neck when he is done stumbling over his shoes, craving the warmth that he has missed. “Did he tell Malay about the screaming?”

Liam only shrugs as he grazes a kiss over the corner of his mouth. “I ended up sneaking away so I could see you. What screaming?”

Zayn snorts, brushing his smile over Liam’s lips. There is something about him that makes all the anxiousness and fear bundled inside of him seep away, and he wants to hold onto that. At least for a little while, he wants to hide away from it all and fill himself with the warmth only Liam can provide.

“Ned heard some woman screaming, something I think means rain of fire,” Zayn whispers, eyes flicking up towards Liam’s. “I don't know what that means.”

Liam shifts his hand over the bottom of his spine, fingers tickling against his skin. “He wants to make us afraid, me dad. We can't give him what he wants.”

Zayn pulls back some to take in Liam’s calm expression. “He said that?”

Liam shakes his head, linking his fingers with Zayn’s. “It's a long story, I just want to sleep right now. Stayed up all night waiting to see you.”

Zayn bites at his smile, knocking his shoulder against Liam’s. “I could sleep for days, I reckon.”

It feels like he does sleep for days when he wakes again. Night has fallen but a soft glow of the lamp at the farthest part of his room cascades across the room. Zayn shifts until he finds Liam underneath it, a book on his lap. He watches him for a moment, a sleepy smile taking over his lips at Liam’s furrowed brows.

“What’re you reading?”

Liam startles, closing the book like he has been caught doing something wrong. The circles under his eyes are even more prominent under the dim light. “Um, I'm sorry. I didn't want to leave you but I can't sleep.”

“S’okay,” Zayn huffs out, propping himself onto his elbows. More scenes of fire had plagued his dreams and he can't get the soft, kind eyes out of his mind. There is something familiar about them, something that soaked away all the fear tied into his dreams. Before they were Liam’s, but now - he can’t place a finger on whose they are. “You can go if you want.”

“I _don't_ ,” Liam insists before holding up the book to show him. “It's something your parents wrote. You were right about it being heavy worded.”

Zayn pushes off of the bed then, padding over to the mirror that hangs off the back of the door. He had checked before falling asleep, but he still takes it by surprise when he glances over his shoulder to see his bare, unscarred skin.

“Which one is it?”

“Your mum wrote about the device she sold to Inis,” he informs him, his voice dropping to a whisper. “The one that prevents you from using your powers?”

“Yeah,” Zayn starts, shuffling over to him. He can feel the worry, the way Liam’s heart beat quickens as the temperature around him rises.

Liam nods, swallowing thickly as his face reddens. “Just wanted to read about it.”

Zayn slides his hand under Liam’s fidgeting one as he sits next to him. “What has you so worried?”

Liam quirks up a brow. “Feeling my emotions again?”

Zayn rolls his eyes, tucking his cheek against Liam’s shoulder. “Trying to comfort them, more like.”

“You don't have to try,” Liam whispers. “Just being near you does that.”

Zayn wrinkles his nose, pushing up to press a kiss to Liam’s cheek. “S’okay, you don't have to talk about it right now. Just know you can if you want to.”

Liam nods, wrapping an arm around Zayn’s shoulder as he opens the book again. “There are a lot of devices in here. They created the gates around The Academy. Nothing, from tools to powers, can get past them.”

Zayn watches as Liam traces his fingers over the words, reading out bits to him. He has only glanced at them before, laid them beside his bed when he has been stuck with thoughts of his parents. Drawn to them the same way he is to their lab, though every sign of them there had been destroyed in the fire.

“But everything can be destroyed some way, yeah? Everything has a weakness,” Liam mumbles, talking to himself more than Zayn.

“You're worried about your father getting out, aren't you?”

Liam glances at him then, eyes glossy. The wave of heat that flows off of him is one he hasn't felt before, a pain so raw it drags tears to Zayn’s eyes as the feeling settles into his chest.

“I am.”

Zayn links their fingers, squeezing Liam’s tightly. “He can’t, Liam, you know that.”

He frowns at the way Liam’s eyes dart away from him, the way he nibbles at his bottom lip and just shrugs in response.

“You need _sleep_ ,” Zayn says softly as he flattens his palm over Liam’s cheek to make the other lad look at him again. “You look as if you haven’t slept in days, love.”

Liam gives him a soft look. “You were the one hurt, yet you're acting like it was me. I should be taking care of you.”

Zayn wrinkles his nose before he rubs it against Liam’s. “We can take care of each other, babe.”

 

It is after Zayn convinces Liam to sleep finally that he searches for Malay, finding him in his study. It is a massive room filled with bookshelves, some holding books and others a variety of items he had collected over the years. From statues and jewelry, to rocks and colorful gems.

“How are you feeling? Healer Davis called me when you woke but by the time I found you, you were asleep here and I didn’t want to disturb you and Mr. Payne.”

Zayn shrugs, dragging his finger through the thick dust collected on one of the shelves. A sign Malay has been preoccupied, since he has always been good about dusting and cleaning his study every week. “Better than I'm supposed to, I reckon.”

He wipes his finger off before handing the book Liam had been reading to Malay, who sits at his desk. Zayn isn't sure he has slept, his skin pale and bags under his eyes darker than the night. “If my parents created the gates to be impenetrable, how is this happening? If Liam’s father is all the way on Inis, how can he be doing this?”

Malay sighs, taking the book from him. He drags his finger down the spine before placing it onto his desk. “I'm asking the same questions Zayn. This is my top priority, especially - it is wrong for me to say this I feel because it was a top priority before. But now that you've been harmed I can't focus on anything else.

“Geoff has denied any involvement,” he goes on after a moment. “And all has seemed quiet up until now. I can't find a pattern, a trace of where the source of power is coming from. I don't even know what he is after. I’m going to have to start sending students home, I think.”

“Liam,” Zayn reminds him, settling in the leather couch to the left of Malay’s desk.

Malay shakes his head. “Power, is my guess. It makes sense. It was what he was always concerned with in school. When your mother created a device to increase power, he had practically threatened to burn down the dorm building, we only had one at the time, if we didn't give it to him. He threatened to make it _rain fire_ on everyone really.”

He can't help but feel relief. But only a small amount. Liam isn't his _target_ , but it doesn't mean he is safe. “How do you know that is what he wants now? If he hasn't admitted to having anything to do with the attacks?”

Malay presses his lips together as he opens the book Zayn had given to him open. He can practical to see the wheels turning in his head. “Liam guessed it too. I'm assuming his father had a way of telling him without telling him.”

Zayn drags his teeth over his bottom lip, tucking his legs towards his chest as he curls farther into the couch. “He won't talk to me about it.”

Malay glances at him again after he flips through a few pages. “It may take him awhile. He has gone through some very traumatic things, and he is strong. But even the strongest people need time to build their strength up again.”

Zayn nods, standing again because the talk of the other lad has made him crave him. “If there is anything I can do -”

“Keep your head up and eyes open. Don’t go sneaking about,” Malay tells him before he softens his voice. “And don't be afraid. Let things go back to normal, he is growing his power out of fear and we cannot let him.”

“How do you know that?”

Malay points to the book. “The device your mother created? It uses fear to create power. It had been an accident, a device intended to be destroyed before it went missing and I think he had something to do with it’s disappearance now. Who else would attack for no reason, and leave wounds that fade?”

“Is that what you think is happening?” Zayn asks, rubbing his back against the couch as a tickle crosses his skin at Malay’s words.

Malay’s face looks like it has aged twenty years in a small moment. “An educated guess.”

The Headmaster claps his hands together then, a soft smiling taking over his lips before he pulls up from his chair. Zayn’s heart clenches in his chest as Malay leans in front of him.

His fingers are soft against his cheeks, the tears lining in his eyes making his expression even softer. “I am glad you are okay.”

Zayn closes his eyes as Malay kisses him gently on the forehead.

+*

Zayn stares at his unmarked skin in the mirror, like if he looks hard enough he will see where the glass had pierced his skin. He can’t, and he walks away with a sigh after he feels a tickle across his back.

He tugs on Liam’s blocky red and black plaid shirt before padding through the dorm and out of it, where the others play footie in the small yard. Malay has allowed it, but there are guardians surrounding them. There has been one starting to follow him around too, and Malay hasn’t mentioned a word about it to him.

The smile taking over Liam’s lips and the laughter filling the air makes a grin take over his own lips. It is moments like these that make it easy for him to just go on like Malay had told him to. Griff nudges Liam aside with an easy press of his elbow, but trips over the ball as Scout catches it with their foot.

Ned is hopeless at footie, standing there with his hands at his hips and talking shit more than doing anything else. Zayn nudges into him, rolling his eyes before Liam is gripping his hips and tugging him away.

Moments like these too, help him feel at ease. With Liam’s lips dragging across his own, the vibration of his laugh against his cheek. There is a grumble around them, but Zayn can’t find it in himself to mind as he curls an arm around Liam’s neck to kiss him proper.

“Do you know what Malay said to me today? During our session?”

“Hm?” Zayn murmurs as Scout rushes past them, elbowing him gently to tell him to get out of their way.

Amusement flicker in his eyes as he shifts his palm over Zayn’s back. “I should come over for dinner so he can grill me the way your father would have.”

Zayn groans quietly, wrapping his fingers around Liam’s wrist to pull him out of the middle of the field. “He has more important things to worry about.”

Liam’s smile falters some, but the brightness doesn’t leave his face as he swings their hands around them. “They are monitoring everyone who comes into the village outside of the school,” Liam tells him. “And he made Harry talk to Carlos to see if he has seen that woman again.”

Zayn huffs out a laugh, pulling Liam’s arms behind him so their chests press together. “Did he?”

Liam shrugs, the smile shifting back on his lips. “I don’t know. Do you miss it? Not going in there?”

Zayn shakes his head. He still can’t get out the image of his dad lying there, one he created himself but still haunts him as if it were a memory. “No, my comfort is here.”

The words slip past his lips before he could stop them, and he feels a flame of icy coldness take over his cheeks before Liam groans in complaint.

“Stop it,” Liam murmurs quietly, lips quirking up. “I want to be that, your comfort.”

Zayn takes a moment to search Liam’s face before he appears again and smothers a kiss to Liam’s lips because he can’t speak with the way his heart rushes up into his throat.

+*

The steel is cool against his skin, contrasting with the heat building from Liam’s. And his own, the fire dragging through him with every press of Liam’s mouth against his neck. His hands warming over his sides and the press of his hips eagerly against his own.

Liam is trying to distract him, he knows. Avoiding all questions of what happened with his father since he tried to bring it up again. He doesn’t mind giving Liam his time, and he definitely doesn’t mind Liam’s technique of distraction.

Malay had said go back to normal routine, and it seemed difficult until Liam’s lips found his.

“This should work, yeah?” Liam asks, hands sliding up his neck to grip under his jaw. He angles his mouth over Zayn’s, rolling his hips forward.

Zayn can only whimper quietly as he nods, fingers gripping onto the lip of Liam’s uniform pants to tug them down his hips. It had been his idea to come here, after nearly setting the fire alarm off in the dorm building with his fingers sneaking down Zayn’s pants. Everyone with fire abilities practice here, because the whole building is meant to be fireproof. He isn't sure how true it is, but he is more than willing to take the risk if Liam is.

“I told you you’re smart, babe,” Zayn murmurs roughly before Liam shifts his lips over his mouth, a rough groan rumbling in his throat.

“I am,” he breathes, tugging on Zayn’s shirt so it pulls out from where it is tucked into his pants. “Since I somehow won your heart.”

Zayn blurts out a laugh, nipping at Liam’s full bottom lip. Liam's hands are hot against his torso, fingers drifting all over his skin like he needs to touch as much of him as possible. And Zayn wants him to.

“You cheated,” Zayn tells him. He is hesitant in the way he glides his fingers over the round of Liam’s bum. He is hesitant in every new touch really, but a shudder of a sigh passes Liam’s lips, encouraging him to grip his fingers in a little harder.

“How?” Liam asks breathlessly, dragging kisses across his jaw before settling at his ear.

“By being you,” Zayn giggles, the sound changing into a soft gasp as Liam’s teeth grip at the sensitive skin of his ear.

The material of his pants seem to irritate his skin as Liam’s hands drag over it, fingering his hips before shifting between them. His mouth glides over the slope of his neck as he drags his palm between his legs. Zayn grinds into it, biting hard at his bottom lip to keep himself quiet.

“Can I?” Liam asks, thumb nudging against the button of his pants.

“Yeah,” Zayn breathes, reaching to Liam’s chest to unbutton the buttons of his uniform shirt that he hasn't already undone. There is a strong look in Liam’s eyes before he molds their lips together, one that makes Zayn's chest feel like it could burst if Liam looks at him like that again.

Liam touches him carefully, so soft at first that all Zayn can feel his the heat radiating through his fingertips along the length of his cock. Until he presses harder against him, making the heat consume him. It drags to his core, sparking each and every nerve it touches as it coils through his limbs.

Zayn grips at Liam’s shoulders as Liam strokes him slowly, thumb rubbing over the underside, circling over his leaking tip. He rolls his hips into it, smothering his soft moans with his lips against Liam’s neck.

“You're really wet,” Liam breathes, admiration in his voice as he rubs his thumb over the slit. Embarrassment gushes through him though, and he can't help but tuck his face away against his neck.

“S’good,” Liam groans, his other hand tugging Zayn’s clothes further down his hips. “Really hot that I make you this wet, babe.”

Zayn pulls back to see the dark flame in Liam’s eyes, the way he bites hard on his bottom lip. He slips out a rough moan as he follows Liam’s eyes drop between them. He glances at the slick covering Liam’s fingers before he reaches between them, nudging his fingers against Liam’s hard prick.

The chant of their moans, Zayn’s harsh and Liam’s whispered, echo through the room around them, over the slick sound of their hands moving over each other. Sweat trails down his skin as flames lick over him, the ball of arousal in his gut threatening to break with every rough drag of Liam’s palm against him.

There are actual flames licking over the walls behind Liam’s back as Liam chokes out a soft moan, hips fucking up towards Zayn’s hand. He doesn't say anything, only shifts a palm over Liam’s back with hope his cold fingers will ease him.

“Good?” Zayn hiccups out as Liam’s lips shift over his.

“Very,” Liam whispers, biting sharply at his bottom lip as he moans. “Can I -?”

“What?” Zayn breathes as Liam’s fingers slip away from him, stilling the movement of his own. Anticipation rocks through him as Liam’s fingers trace down his hips before he is lowering himself down and onto his knees.

“Oh,” Zayn blurts as Liam’s fingers curl around him. There is a shy look in his eyes before he nudges forward, his lips obscene the way they part over the head.

He has to look away as an overwhelmed feeling takes over him as Liam’s mouth wraps around the tip of his prick. The flames have disappeared, but the feeling of them ghosts over his limbs. His fingers slide over Liam’s head as he chances another look down, a moan ripping from his throat as he eyes the stretch of Liam’s lips, the flutter of his eyelashes around his brows and the way his prick slowly slips further into Liam’s mouth.

“Oh, fuck, Liam,” Zayn moans quietly as Liam’s tongue rubs underneath him. A tremor rocks through him as Liam moans into it. He grips Liam’s jaw, dragging his thumb over the coarse head there as Liam sink lower. “Can you?”

Liam’s dark eyes flick up to him as he pulls off, tongue flicking out to drag across the tip. The cool sweeps up his spine but he swallows it down. “Can you um, touch yourself.”

Liam’s eyes flutter back closed as he wraps his lips back around him, sucking softly as he reaches down between his legs. It is only a breath later that the slick sound of Liam’s hand working his prick sounds through the room, echoing loudly in his ears.

“C’mere,” Zayn huffs out desperately, digging his fingers into Liam’s shoulder until his pulls off. A flame flickers in his eyes as he stands, lips knocking against his immediately. He groans into it, hips knocking into the movement of his hand until Liam’s fingers curl back around him.

“Liam,” Zayn breathes, fingers tickling over the other man’s length. The flames return against the wall as he take Liam’s dick into his hand, thumb rubbing under the slippery head. The words he wants to speak are at the tip of his tongue but he chokes out a moan instead, feeling the ball of pleasure growing in his navel.

“Gonna,” Liam chokes out, head tilting back as Zayn’s teeters close to his own release. The flames lick over Liam’s neck as well, tickling at his jaw and Zayn doesn't think about it before he glides his hand over it.

It doesn't burn, but he gasps loudly as he comes, streaking out over Liam’s fingers. Liam's knock against his own to muffle the sound, his body tensing and trembling as he rests his weight against him, pushing him hard against the wall.

Zayn kisses him through it, savoring every moan shuddered against his tongue as Liam comes. He wants to print each moan into his memory, write poems on how beautiful a sound it is if he could ever find the right words to describe it. It rushes through him, like the flames licking over his knuckles.

“Zayn,” Liam breathes, sliding his hands over his hips to press them properly together. He flicks his eyes open and Zayn tries not to gasp at the actual flames in his eyes.

“Liam,” Zayn repeats, dragging his thumb over his bottom lip as he tries to calm the static of pleasure still making his body tremble and his chest fall and rise at a quick place.

“We did it.”

Zayn blurts out a laugh as he curls his arms around Liam's shoulders and smothers kisses to his lips. The flames on the wall slowly sink away, leaving no sign that they were even there.

“You're such a cornball,” Zayn whispers fondly, warming his palm over Liam’s sweat covered abdomen.

“You love me,” Liam murmurs, tucking his finger under Zayn's chin to lift it. Zayn stills, wondering if Liam even realized he said the word he said. “You okay?”

Zayn nods, shifting a smile over his lips. “Never better.”

It takes them awhile to pull themselves away from each other enough to pull their close back on, wash their hands and leave. The red never leaves Liam’s face, even when they step outside into the cool autumn air. It clings to him too, as he wonders if he should tell Liam about the fire that took over his body.

“I'm sorry,” Liam giggles, shifting his thumb over Zayn’s throat. “There is no way Malay isn't going to see that during your meeting.

Zayn groans in compliant, lips quirked up. “It's you who should be worried.”

Liam's eyes go wide at that. “I'll tell him it wasn't me.”

Zayn rolls his eyes, stopping Liam so he can brush a kiss over his mouth. He doesn't care that their classmates walk around them, and he hopes Liam doesn't either. “You can't lie for shit, Liam.”

Liam doesn't deny it, only kisses him a second time.

 

Zayn sinks into Malay’s office a little late, but the Headmaster doesn’t seem to mind. He doesn’t look as exhausted, but he isn’t as bright as he usually is.

“How are you today, Zayn?”

“Great,” Zayn murmurs, trying to hold back the smile threatening to take over his lips. He can’t help it, with the feel of Liam’s lips lingering over his skin still. The feeling in his chest is addicting, making him already miss being soaked in the warmth of Liam.

Malay looks up, a brightness taking over his features suddenly. “I’m glad to hear that. You and Liam, I suppose?”

“Oh. Uh.”

He waves his hand, letting out a quiet laugh. “I don’t want to know. I’m just glad you guys can, breathe for a moment.”

Zayn frowns, ticking his fingers against his knees. “What’s happening?”

“Nothing,” Malay sighs, holding his hands out in confusion. “I don’t feel it anymore, that toxic energy? It is like, I don’t know. It just vanished. It is perplexing.”

“Liam didn’t mention that.”

“There is another,” Malay goes on, a distracted look on his face. He scratches at the hair starting to grow on his jaw for a long moment before he speaks again. “Another pulse of power. It, it isn’t one I felt for a long time. I think it is coming from you. It feels stronger.”

“What?” Zayn blurts.

Malay’s lips quirk up. “It reminds me of your mother. Have you discovered anything different about yourself? Discovered any new powers? It could be the reason for this new strength.”

“Um,” Zayn starts, shaking his head. “I can feel Liam’s heartbeat.”

Malay nods, reaching for one of the books stacked on his desk. He slides it over to Zayn. “Have you read the story of the Man of Ignis and the Hidden Queen? I think you’ll find it interesting.”

Zayn grabs the book, reading over the title before tucking it into his lap. He hasn’t read this one, and he isn’t sure what Malay is implying with a book called the _Power of Soulmates_.  “Do you think it is another power?”

Malay shakes his head. “Not quite.”

“Then what?”

His lips quirk up then, amusement in his eyes as he indicates the book. “Read it. I think you’ll like it. But for now, tell me if you have noticed anything else?”

Zayn shakes his head, disappointment taking over his chest. “No, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Malay tells him patiently, resting his elbows back on his desk as he links his fingers together. “You know when your mother first came here, there was always wind around her because she struggled to calm it down, and it took her awhile to control it. It wasn’t until she nearly graduated that she realized she could also heal people.”

Zayn bends forward, curling his arms around his belly. “She could?”

Malay nods, lips quirking up as his eyes go distant like he is reminiscing. “Shortly after that she realized she could transfer her emotions into people. When they were sad she could give them happiness, she could give them relief. When your father’s father passed, she soaked in all of his pain and put it inside of this rock outside of your home. You can touch it and feel the pain in it.”

“Could she do anything else?”

Malay nods his head, a look of amusement on his face. “I used to think everything she did was superhuman, that is how many abilities she possessed. She could hear things miles away, she could see in the dark. Perfect memory, an intelligence that only rivaled your father’s.  Telekinesis, memory transferral, super strength. We were still finding new things she could do when she passed.”

Malay’s eyes glide over him, the smile not faltering from his lips. “She was an exceptional woman. Who married an exceptional man with almost the same amount of abilities, and the both of them are in you. You will see.”

Zayn sighs, feeling that urge to roll his eyes like he always does when Malay goes on about how powerful he will be one day. “I will be unstoppable, hiding from sight whenever in danger.”

Malay looks at him, annoyed though his lips struggle not to pull up. “Come on, son, let’s get some work done.”

+*

It has been strange, being back in classes after everything that has happened. He is behind in most of them, which makes half of his Professors look annoyed with him though Malay assured him he has spoken to all of them. And after only three classes and he feels _exhausted_ , not even wanting to start on his homework.

Though he is excited about the essay for Styles’ class. He picked the Maliks’ work to focus on, borrowing a few of the books written by the Malik’s from Zayn’s room. He isn't sure Zayn even knows how much his family has done for people like them.

It makes him even more confused as to why his own parents hate them so much. _He wants power_ , echoes in his mind as he slides the razor over his chin. The Maliks had created loads of objects that could provide power, or take it away.

Her kind eyes keep popping into his mind, and it is starting to drive him a bit mad that he can't figure out how he recognizes her. Or _why_ he trusts the woman. He knows he should tell Malay about her warning, not just his worries about Zayn. It had been at the front of his mind after the call came that Zayn was hurt. But he doesn’t see how hurting Zayn the way he had been hurt would have been a way to take his _power_.

“Ahem.”

Liam stills, eyes finding Zayn in the mirror. He is glaring, eyes narrowed and hands as it his hips. Liam drops the razor he holds close to his neck, placing it in the cup of warm water on the sink before turning around.

“What?” Liam asks as Zayn steps into the bathroom.

“What the hell are you doing?”

Liam makes a confused noise, holding out the razor to show him as he approaches

Zayn reaches forward, rubbing his finger over the now bare patch of skin on his chin. “Why would you do this to me?”

Liam snorts before turning back around. “It was getting too long.”

Zayn makes an offended noise at that, taking the razor from him before he can bring it back to his chin. He turns, resting back against the sink as he quirks up a brow at the other man. The pout on his lips is offensively adorable, and Liam would press his lips to his if there wasn’t shaving cream covering his face.

There is a concentrated look on the other man's face as he glides the razor back over his skin, tongue pressed between his teeth. His fingers are soft against his skin as he tilts Liam’s chin before gentling the razor over the soft of his neck.

All the fear and panic he has felt has settled at the back of mind. It is so easy to wrap himself in the distraction that is Zayn, though he finds himself being distracted from schoolwork too. Even when they study, Zayn has to convince him to focus though Liam always tells him he needs a kiss first.

It is working, keeping the fear away. He doesn't look up at the dark sky and feel it any longer, isn't worried that his father is going to pop out of nowhere with fire on his fingers and needing Liam’s skin to put it out. He is just nervous for Zayn, the one with the most power -

Malay had assured him that his worries were unfounded but Malay’s comment about not mentioning Zayn to his father, his father’s hate for the Maliks and the way Malay has been constantly checking up on them make him feel as if the older man is lying. For his sake, maybe, but it only worries him more.

“What is it?” Zayn breathes, eyes flicking up to him as he rinses off the razor before easing it gently over his top lip.

“It has been quiet since that storm that blew out the window.”

Zayn's brows furrow, lips pouting out at that. “You think something else is going to happen?”

Liam only hums his response as Zayn grips his chin to keep him still as he shaves over the last patch of coarse hair.

“Because you feel it?”

“No,” Liam murmurs. “It isn't any different. I just, dunno. Maybe he is using suspense as a tool to build fear.”

“Are you afraid?” Zayn whispers as he grabs the towel to wipe off the excess hair and cream from Liam’s cheeks.

Liam reaches forward, sliding his hand over Zayn’s side. “No. I don't think he wants to hurt me, but I don't think he would care if he accidentally did.”

Zayn's frown only deepens at that. “I won't let him,” he says firmly. “He would have to take me out first.”

Liam groans in complaint. “No, don't say that.”

“It's _true_ ,” Zayn insists, lips quirking up. “Malay is throwing an event in the cafeteria to take our minds off of stuff tonight. Do you want to go?”

Liam grins, nodding as Zayn reaches for the aftershave. The mark left behind by his mouth on his neck has already faded, he noticed it this morning when he woke to Zayn mumbling something about him needing to make them coffee. He wants to make another, scatter his skin with the purpled marks in hopes they don't fade so quickly.

There is just something about them, a little sign of mine he shouldn't feel because Zayn’s isn't his, he is Zayn’s.

“What are you thinking about now?” Zayn huffs out, smothering his skin in aftershave with gentle hands.

Embarrassment flushes over him. “That I'm yours.”

Zayn's face softens before he kisses him quickly. “My Liam. Though I like you better with a beard.”

Liam parts his lips to respond when Ned steps into the bathroom, face crumpled in annoyance.

“Zayn, I'm really glad you're not dead but I'm going to kill you.”

Zayn whips around as Liam covers his face with his palm, embarrassment filling him as he knows what Ned is going to say.

“Been stuck in class with this one day dreaming about you.”

Niall's laughter sounds from the hallway, making Ned whip around to yell, “you aren't any better. I hate everyone.”

+*

The cafeteria is crowded with students and professors, upbeat music filling the room over the rumble of chatter. There are tables and tables of food, and the happy atmosphere, for a moment, makes the grim feeling hanging in the air seem as if it has disappeared.

But the grim look still covers Malay's face and Zayn can't help but constantly glance at him, though he does try to smile whenever approached. It was a good idea, allowing the students an event to distract them and relieve them from their dorms, but he thinks about what Liam had said. It has been so quiet, something must be happening.

“I was just messing,” Ned says as he slides next to him where Zayn sits on the table, watching in amusement as Scout tries to teach Liam how to dance. “He only thought about it once but I was horrified.”

Zayn barks out a laugh, feeling that chill seep up his spine. “He is always troubled with bad thoughts you know, at least that is a good one.”

Ned snorts, sitting beside him. “I know. I never mention it but as often as he thinks about his dad I feel like I should say something so he can get it all off of his chest.”

Zayn frowns, eyes dropping to his fingers on his lap as he nods. “I reckon it is best not to.”

“His dad apologized,” Ned goes on and Zayn knows he should tell him to stop talking. It makes him feel guilty, prying, but the concern and curiosity he has makes his lips seal shut. “But he bad mouthed your parents and Liam didn't want to hear it anymore.”

Zayn glances up at Ned before finding Liam again, enjoying the way his eyes crinkle and his mouth falls open around his laugh as he stumbles over his feet. Scout’s hands are on his hips, their own body shaking with laughter as they try to guide him to move with the beat. “Anymore?”

Ned grimaces slightly. “Yeah, I guess his mom does too.”

An uncomfortable feeling rolls through his stomach at that. Liam has never even hinted at that before. “His dad stole stuff from me mum,” Zayn tells him quietly. “That could be why.”

Ned shrugs before curling an arm around his shoulders. “Star crossed lovers.”

Zayn shoves him away playfully. “Shut up.”

“He might have another lover actually,” Ned sighs dramatically. “An older lady, maybe that is his thing. She does look a bit like you, you know, with the overly kind face. Maybe that’s his thing -”

Zayn elbows him, this time not as playfully. “What are you going on about?”

Ned presses a finger to his lips, mischief in his eyes.

He scrambles from the bench then to pad over to Liam, trying not to feel annoyed by Ned’s playing around. Scout shifts away from Liam then, still laughing at Liam’s frustrated face.

“He's all yours dude. Lord, help him,” Scout laughs, patting him on the chest.

Liam gives him a shy smile as Zayn takes his hands. He wants to ask about his parents but he doesn't. He knows Liam probably has a good reason for not telling him and he doesn't care. He has spent plenty of time telling the other man that he isn't anything like his parents, that he knows it doesn't matter.

“Alright?” Liam asks, linking his fingers with Zayn’s.

Zayn nods, dragging Liam's arm back to wrap around his waist. He still isn't used to the smooth skin across his jaw and it feels strange when he tickles his lips across it. “If it helps, I can't stop thinking about your dick either.”

Liam barks out a laugh, smothering it against his cheek. “Shut it.”

Zayn grins, hovering his lips over Liam’s. He likes the feeling of arousal that floats off of the other man. The way it warms over his skin and mixes in with his own. “Wanna practice again tonight?”

Liam's lips quirk up as he nods, before sliding his lips over Zayn's.

 

“Okay?"

Zayn swallows, tucking his fingers through Liam’s hair as he nods. He wants to be able to put it into words, but he can’t. He feels like he is burning with Liam’s skin pressed against his own, his fingers like matches striking flames against his skin. It runs deep, settling in the low of his navel and sparking through him with every wet kiss Liam presses to his neck. He has never been this hot in his life, but it feels good, unbelievably good -

"You’re sweating,” Liam mumbles, nibbling on his bottom lip anxiously. Zayn can feel the erratic beat of Liam’s heart everywhere he touches him, it practically thumps through him too. “I can -"

"No,” Zayn interrupts before Liam can say stop. “I don’t want to stop."

Liam looks unsure before he presses his lips gently to Zayn’s throat. He isn't sure why the other lad is so nervous this time, if it is because they aren't surrounded by steel walls or not. “Me neither.”

Liam scatters kisses across his chest, fingers tickling down his sides. It is maddeningly slow, the way Liam’s tongue slides against his skin.

His eyes are dark, just a flicker of a flame in them as he looks up at Zayn before trailing his tongue down to his navel. He wants to roll his hips up, get a hand around himself, just something to ease the pressure building between his legs from Liam’s touch.

“Zayn,” Liam murmurs hoarsely, crawling back up until their chests are level. Liam’s hips roll down against his, tugging out a soft moan from his throat. “Want you so bad.”

“Have me,” Zayn breathes, sliding his palm up Liam’s chest before curling it around his neck.

He is mesmerized by the crease in his brow, the way his lips part and eyes fall closed as he grinds down against him again. But he can feel the slight panic that takes over Liam, intune to the way his heart skips in his chest.

“I can’t,” Liam shutters out, eyes falling to where he hovers his hand between them. Zayn gasps slightly, latching his eyes onto the flames that lick up and down Liam’s fingers. “What if I hurt you?”

“You won’t,” Zayn assures him, curling his fingers around Liam’s before bringing those flames to his chest with a slight hesitancy because he isn't sure if Liam is aware of the flames that had taken over his skin last time.

Liam gasps, arm tensing as if to resist the movement but he relaxes the moment he sees the flames dancing across Zayn’s skin. He feels it, the warmth, but it isn’t scorching like it should be. Instead it makes his heart feel ten times too big for his chest.

Liam ducks his head forward, molding their lips together and trapping the flames between their chests. Zayn gasps into it, fingers grazing over the heat of Liam’s cheeks to keep him there for a moment.

“Just one problem, then,” Liam murmurs against his lips. He turns his head to the side, and Zayn follows suit, staring in horror at the flames that dance over Niall’s bed.

“Fuck,” Zayn gasps as they scramble off of Liam’s bed to put the flames out. “He’s going to kill us.”

Liam runs off for the fire extinguisher as Zayn stills in horror, grimacing at himself as he silently tells the flames to stop before running after Liam. He barely gets to the sink before there the whirring of the alarm sounds over him.

Ned pokes his head out as Griff and Scout stumble out of their rooms, glancing at the smoke filtering out of Liam and Niall’s bedroom before glaring at Zayn. Zayn only shrugs before waving for him to come on.

The cool air is shocking against his body when he gets far from their building. He is is overheated from the press of Liam’s chest against his back, the arms curled around his front, the way his heart flip and flops in his chest and the arousal still in his navel, made worse by the way Liam’s brushes kisses and laughs against his jaw. They watch on as the Headmaster approaches the building, the sky turning darker as there is rumble overhead. It feels like everything falls silent for a moment before water is pouring down over them.

“Got this,” he hears from the side, eyeing Griff who has a pleased grin on his lips. He glances up, letting the water droplets he created fall down onto his face. “We don’t even need those stuck up water kids.”

Zayn snorts, eyes falling back to where the students with water abilities follow behind the Headmaster. A girl with short blond hair leads them, hands out before she manipulates the rain to look like it is spraying from her hands like a hose.

“I think I can do that,” Liam whispers to him, holding his hand out low so Zayn can see the flame in his palm. There is no spike in his emotion like normally, no over excessive heat just the regular, hot Liam heat. “But with fire. I'm getting better at controlling it. Like, creating it by will power but um, yeah - not great yet.”

Zayn looks back at him, eyeing the pleased look on Liam’s face. A pride fills him, that Liam doesn't seem scared of the flames.  “Don’t smile right now, babe, you’re an arsonist.”

“By accident,” Liam says in offense, frowning at him and making Zayn smother his laugh to his cheek.

“What were you doing?” Ned asks, taking Griff’s spot as Griff heads over to the Headmaster.

“Fucking -”

A chill takes down Zayn’s spine before he feels it take over him. It only makes Ned laugh, how quickly he turns invisible because of the embarrassment blossoming in his chest.

“Shut it,” Liam grumbles, his heartbeat picking up along with the temperature around them.

Ned only grins, wiggling his eyebrows before he is pushing away from them, laughing about how Niall is going to react about his scorched bed.

“Come back to me.”

It is like a woosh of air leaving him as he lets go of his cover and sinks back against Liam’s bare chest, making Liam’s arms squeeze tighter around his shoulders

“We’ll probably have to fuck in the shower,” Zayn mumbles, hiding his grin against Liam’s forearm before he bites him gently. Liam’s laughter sounds over the heavy sound of the rain. “Or in like a field, far far away from everything. Or just stay locked up in the steel room for forever.”

“Can you imagine,” Liam laughs, voice tinted in embarrassment. “What would happen if we actually had sex?”

“Would probably burn down the whole school,” Zayn cackles, kissing over the ink on Liam’s forearm to keep him from being embarrassed but he can’t help but laugh at their situation. He thinks of the flames that had licked up the walls the last time he had made Liam come, wanting to assure Liam he hadn’t caused any damage that time but this time he has.

Liam snorts, the eye roll heard in his voice. “Wonderful.”

The rain slows as the Headmaster makes his way into the building by himself. It takes a moment before he gives his approval for everyone to come in.

“What the fuck?” he hears from the side, heart sinking into his stomach when Niall walks up. His face is bright red, hair wet across his forehead and hickies that weren’t there before he left the event at the cafeteria, covering his throat.

“Listen, mate,” Liam says, taking a step back from Zayn as he grimaces. “You can sleep in my bed, okay? I’ll sleep on the couch. Or um, with Zayn.”

“I don’t know,” Zayn adds, giving him an unsure glance. “Might start more fires that way.”

“What!” Niall gasps, eyes narrowing at them before he is pushing past them with quick feet to get to his room.

Liam huffs out a laugh, pressing a quick kiss to Zayn’s forehead. “I should probably go tell Malay it was me. He looks overwhelmed.”

Dread runs through him as he nods, that grim feeling taking over him again. “You're right.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song lyrics in this fic are 'Need the Sun to Break' by James Bay. (Thanks Caro for the recommendation).
> 
> Also, I had some help from tumblr with the different languages in this chapter. For the Urdu, I got quite a few different responses on how to say it, so I apologize if I chose the wrong one to put into this story. (I chose the one I got the most, lol.) Read the end notes to know what it means :p

“That is actually pretty cool,” Griff says in amazement as he stares at the flames dancing over Liam’s palms.

Liam has been practicing nonstop since he accidentally set Niall’s bed on fire. After seeing the fear in Malay’s eyes before Liam admitted to him that it was his fault, he had gone back to his smoke scened room with Zayn and worked all night. The curfew helps, keeping him stuck inside when not in class.

And though Zayn has always been a good tutor, Liam had asked for Griff’s assistance since the storm causing lad is a bit less distracting.

Liam makes the fire disappear, smiling proudly to himself. “I can make it appear and disappear now without like, a change in my emotions. I just need to figure out how to stop it when I am emotional.”

Griff nods. “That part is hard. I used to cause short thunder storms whenever I got upset but I learned how to control it. And if it helps, it isn't hot in the room like, _you_ look like you’re hot. But I don't feel it.”

The smile that takes over his lips almost hurts. Griff isn't the first one to have told him he hasn't flamed up the room in a few days, and he feels so relieved and _hopeful_. And the hope in his chest burns harsher than the fear that always grips at his heart when the flames dance over his skin.

Liam focuses on the metal box he had taken from the steel room. Malay has allowed him to practice in there now that he can actually create fire, but he feels odd and uncomfortable amongst the other students. They haven’t said anything to him, but he feels their eyes dodging over him as he pulls fire out of thin air. The whispers are quiet but they seem defeaning in his ears, and he wishes he could speak or understand French the way Zayn can.

Flames lick at the box once he thinks about them, different shades of orange and red filling his vision. He reaches out, tickling his fingers against them. Griff hovers his hand over them too, and Liam wants to tell him no before he watches the other man dip his whole hand into the fire.

“What are you doing?” Liam yelps, but he feels frozen in place as he watches on.

“Fuck,” Griff gasps, a bright smile taking over his lips as he watches his fingers wiggle through the flames. “It feels hot but like, standing outside in the sun kind of warm, you know?”

Liam makes the fire go away quickly when he feels those nerves fill up his gut. “I used to be afraid of it. Fire in general. But now I kind of like it.”

Griff cups the back of Liam’s neck. There is a soft, understanding look in his eyes. “I'm really happy for you bro.”

“Thanks,” he replies as he stands up from where they were sitting on the ground. He has made a lot of progress but it makes him feel tired, and hungry. “I need to eat something.”

Griff huffs out a laugh as he grabs the hand Liam holds out to him to help him up. “Nialler is in charge of dinner. Hopefully it's better than Cook’s Monday surprise.”

Liam grimaces, clutching his belly. “To be honest, I would eat anything right now.”

Liam still hasn't grown used to the guardians that wait outside of every room he goes into, or the clacking of their boots when they follow after him. It reminds him too much of the prison, and the cold, empty feeling that had clung to him while he was there. They don't talk much, and Liam has told Malay he doesn't need them around.

But he doesn't mind _that_ much, because if they are around him, they are around Zayn too. Most of the time.

The girls are in their dorm too when Griff and Liam get back. Along with Harry, Louis and three bunny rabbits that hop excitedly between Harry and the kitchen. He doesn't see Zayn amongst them, or in the kitchen where Niall sweats over the stove.

He tip toes into his bedroom, finding Zayn curled up with his knees tucked towards his chest and his arms curled between them. It is freezing in his room, the window wide open and his blankets thrown to the ground. He wears nothing but a shirt that is too big for him and briefs, despite the cool temperature.

Liam pads over to close the window when he spots a mark on the wall, a hand sized spiral shape that looks as if it has been painted on. He rubs at it before he rests his palm over it, focusing on the power that seeps off of it.

It is unfamiliar, but it doesn't make his stomach turn. Instead it soaks into him almost the same feeling he gets when he is with Zayn.

“What is it?”

Liam pulls his hand away as Zayn rolls over to look at him, teeth clattering against each other.

“The spiral?”

Liam nods as he closes the window and walks back to pull Zayn's blankets over him. “It appears sometimes,” Zayn explains softly, his eyelashes fluttering against his the high of his cheeks as he tries to blink away sleep. “I don't know what it is.”

Liam feels his face crumple as he drags his hands over the blanket to warm Zayn up. “You're freezing, babe.”

“I didn’t open the window,” he yawns, his face still heavy with sleep. “Maybe Ned did because I was having another nightmare. My dad was screaming in this one. I know it was him.”

Liam stills for a moment before he slides his fingers over Zayn's neck. His heart is steady. “What was he screaming?”

“‘Tricia, get him out of here’,” Zayn responds, eyes pressing closed.

Liam bends forward, dragging a kiss over Zayn's cheek though there is no stress in his features. “It is just a dream. I am here now.”

Zayn flicks an eye open, lips tilting up. “You were in my dream, woke me up.”

Liam frowns at that, brushing the hair off of Zayn's forehead. It has been getting longer, making him look even softer than normal. “I was?”

“You are sometimes,” Zayn tells him, looking away from him. “You always call me sunshine like you don't realize you're the sun.”

Liam snorts. “Whose the corny one now?”

Zayn rolls his eyes, a flush taking over his cheeks. “Shut up. You love me.”

Liam presses another kiss to the corner of his mouth, hoping Zayn knows just how true that is. But the other lad doesn’t even seem to realize he just spat out the word they have never discussed it. “I do.”

Zayn rolls onto his back, fingers linking with his absentmindedly. “Can I ask a question?”

His eyes dart away from him again, filling Liam with concern. “What is it?”

“Well,” Zayn starts, the embarrassment clear in his face and his ears turn a dark shade before they disappear all together. “It's dumb.”

“What is it?” Liam pushes, trying not to fond over an earless Zayn. He isn’t even sure the other lad is aware that parts of him are turning invisible.

Zayn grins, rolling his eyes. “Ned says like, you keep thinking about a woman. Called her your uh, lover.”

Liam blurts out a laugh, climbing onto the bed to hover his body over Zayn’s. The other man makes an embarrassed noise, fingers gripping into Liam’s shirt as he attempts to hide his face against his neck.

“Ned just likes to talk shit. She's a woman I met at the train station. I don't even know her.”

Zayn tucks his head against the pillow to look at him, brows stitching together. “Then why do you keep thinking about her?” He asks softly.

Liam cradles his arms around Zayn's head. He hasn't even told Malay about her though he knows he probably should. Malay had pushed him for more of an explanation when he had hinted at her warning, but he felt like she should be a secret with the how she didn't want Malay to see her.

“She told me what me dad was after,” Liam whispers under his breath. “I felt like I could trust her. Like I _knew_ her, so -”

“Liam!” Zayn blurts, alarm on his face as his ears return. “Did you tell Malay any of this?”

“ _No_ ,” Liam says guiltily, dragging out the word as he rolls to Zayn’s side. “I know I should have. But she seemed to not want Malay to see her.”

Zayn flies up into a sitting position. “ _Liam_ , no offense but that to me seems pretty good of a reason to tell Malay about her.”

A frustration fills him because of his inability to explain it. And because he _knows_ he should have.

“It's just like - I don't know how to explain it, Zayn that’s the thing. Like, you know how I can feel the different power present and how I know it is bad? It's like the same with her, but I knew she was good.”

Zayn softens as he folds a hand over Liam’s hot cheek. “I understand babe. But we still need to tell Malay.”

Liam nods, swallowing away the thick feeling building in his throat as Zayn’s lips quirk up.

“And you know what?” Zayn starts quietly before he drags his teeth over his bottom lip. “I could feel you get upset just now but you didn't heat up the room.”

Liam smiles, nudging his cheek into Zayn’s cold palm. “Can we tell him a little bit later? I just want to spend time with you.”

Zayn sighs, pressing forward to slide a kiss across his lips. “Who can say no when you do those puppy eyes.”

Liam bites at his smile, trying to force it down. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Zayn grips Liam’s shoulders, tugging him back over him. He rolls until it is Zayn on top of him, making Zayn gasp loudly against his lips.

“You can warm me up,” Zayn murmurs as Liam shifts his palms under the plaid shirt Zayn wears. The one he had stolen from him. His skin feels like ice under his hot palms, but he doesn’t let his hands burn too hot as he rubs down Zayn’s back.

“If you cool me down,” Liam breathes back, nudging his lips against Zayn’s but the other lad dodges his kiss.

He grins, a spark in his eyes as he knocks his nose against Liam’s. “Together, we can moderate the temperature accordingly.”

Liam snorts, resting back to look up at him as he drags his fingers over the brim of his briefs. “I’m going to fail if you keep talkin’ dirty to me like that.”

Zayn’s giggle sounds through the room before he is knocking his lips to Liam’s finally, sinking into him. He is a heavy weight on top of him, but Liam savors the feeling. He can easily be consumed by Zayn this way, by the heartbeat on his skin that builds steadily, the scent of his cologne and the sharp taste of his minty toothpaste.

The tickle of his fingers over his neck and chest, the way the drag of them leaves a static against his skin. Comfort soaks through him as he moves his lips with Zayn, though there was no jittery feeling in him that he was aware of.

Zayn sighs softly as he cocks his head to the other side, lips fitting back against his own. His skin slowly warms under Liam’s touch, his heart beat growing against his skin. He curls his arms around the back of Liam’s head, hips knocking down.

“Liam,” Zayn murmurs quietly, lips tickling his as he speaks. “I can feel it.”

“Hm?” Liam asks, hand sliding over the round of his bum. He grips him gently, keeping his hips planted down against his own. Zayn shudders out a quiet moan, teeth nipping at his bottom lip.

“How you feel,” Zayn breathes, lips gliding over the prickle of hair covering his jaw. He had tried shaving it again, but had found all of his razors had disappeared. “About me.”

Liam sighs softly at the spark of pleasure that lights through him from the raspy low of Zayn’s voice, and the grip of his teeth under his jaw. He can feel the whisper of his words against his skin more so than hear them.

“What?” Liam breathes, grazing his fingers over the back of Zayn’s head as his tongue swirls shapes over his skin.

“I said,” Zayn whispers. “It’s overwhelming.”

The warmth of Zayn’s eyes match his skin as he props himself above Liam to look down at him. “But good, like a good kind overwhelming.”

 

When they finally drag themselves away from the bed, after Liam had burned finger shaped holes in the sheets from gripping at them, Zayn’s mouth wet and hot against his cock, they truck themselves into the kitchen where a sweet smell takes over. Trays of cookies litter the stove, Harry in front of them.

He wears an apron, tied around the waist, with a spatula gripped tightly in one hand. There is batter on his cheeks and chocolate smudged all over his fingers.

“So you finally decided to join us,” Ned mutters with his lips quirked up some where he stands up from the small round table that normally goes unused. He grabs for a cookie before flying back as Harry swats him with his spatula.

“Liam said he was hungry,” Griff jokes as he darts around Ned to steal one without Harry noticing. “Guess he _ate_.”

Ned blurts out a loud laugh as Liam flames up, Zayn disappearing by his side. It is immediate, the fire that bursts over one of the tray of cookies, making all of the stumble back.

Harry yelps, shoving the tray into the sink before starting the water. He whips around, pointing the spatula accusingly at Liam. “It wasn’t me who said that! What the hell, _Liam_. You can’t have any.”

“Oh shit,” Ned laughs into his fist. Griff wears a proud grin as he chews his cookie, wiggling his brows at Liam. “Good one.”

“Who made Harry yell?” Niall grumbles as he pads in. He takes one glance at the smoking sink before narrowing his eyes at Liam.

“Blame Griff and Ned,” Liam barks out, reaching out to curl his arm around Zayn’s back in hopes he returns soon but his arm just waves through empty air.

He eyes two cookies floating in the air before Zayn is walking out of the room. Liam gives Harry an apologetic grin before he scurries after him.

He finds Zayn in the living room, visible again as he munches on a cookie. He offers the other he holds to Liam. “Stole it for you.”

Liam grabs Zayn’s cheeks, sliding his lips over his chocolate covered ones. “You’re my favorite.”

“I better be,” Zayn grumbles, pecking another kiss to Liam’s lips.

+*

It is getting harder to sneak out of their dorm and into the steel room, but his sheets are more burn holes than anything else. And it is worth the risk and the struggle getting past the guardians just to feel Liam’s bare skin covering his body.

It is a storage closet they are in he thinks, from the shelves lining the wall filled with metal pieces like the one Liam uses to practice. There is a dim light bulb over them, but the light from the flames licking over the walls light the room for them.

Zayn lets out a quiet groan as Liam’s hands cup the round of his bum, pressing him harder against the slow roll of his hips. He licks over the birthmark stained against Liam’s throat before pressing his teeth into the sensitive skin, earning a rough sigh from the other lad.

“Zayn,” Liam breathes, chin tilting up as Zayn nudges his mouth under his jaw. “Can I?”

“Hm?” Zayn asks before he moans quietly, feeling Liam’s fingers slip between his bare cheeks. His pants are wrapped around his calves, after being pulled off in a rush manner before Liam started to touch him slowly.

“ _Oh_ ,” he breathes, his heart pounding heavily in his chest.

Liam moves his fingers back over his bum. “Sorry, I just -”

Zayn pulls back, looking at Liam’s heavy lidded eyes and the nerves in them. “You can,” he murmurs, shifting his lips over Liam’s. “Please.”

Liam nips at his bottom lip before pressing a kiss to the tip of his nose. He turns them until Zayn’s back his pressing against the wall, hands rubbing up over his sides. “Turn around.”

Zayn bites his bottom lip hard at the deep sound of Liam’s voice before he turns, a jitter taking over his limbs. He presses his arms against the wall, bucking his hips slightly as Liam continues to run his hands over his skin.

“Have you ever?” Liam starts quietly, dipping a soft kiss to his shoulder. Zayn swallows down the chill in his spine as he nods, eyes falling closed.

“Yes,” Zayn shivers out as Liam’s fingers run back over his bum, his lips centered between his shoulder blades. “Always thinking of you.”

A soft groan from Liam echoes through the storage room, the pressure of his fingers a bit rougher as he grips Zayn’s bum. “Really?”

“Yeah, Li,” Zayn mumbles as Liam makes a slick sound. Only a moment passes by before he feels the slick of Liam’s fingers sliding against him and he shivers, hips pushing back against the touch. It makes Liam chuckle hoarsely, his teeth grazing over his shoulder.

They don’t have much time to hide away before special courses start, but Liam works into him like they have hours. Gentling a finger into him with kisses over his shoulder, his other hand smoothing over every inch of skin he can reach.

Until a moan passes Zayn’s lips roughly with the pinch of the second finger, and Liam’s hand disappears before a slick sound echoes through the metal room.

Zayn rolls his hips back into Liam’s touch, his invisible fingers digging into the cold wall. He gets frustrated trying to grip onto something before deciding to rest his elbow onto the wall to curl his fingers around himself.

Liam gasps quietly in his ear as Zayn tenses from the pleasure rippling through him. “Sorry.”

Zayn doesn’t ask what as the light of the flame flickers over the metal around them. Heat washes over the room, causing sweat to pour down his back before Liam presses closer to him, his own skin burning and slick.

“Don’t be, just -”

Liam moans quietly as his teeth grip into Zayn’s shoulder, his fingers working deep as they fumble over that ball of nerves. It trembles through Zayn, making him work his hips back faster against Liam’s fingers.

A wrecked noise sounds from Liam under the fast, slick sound of his hand working over his prick as his fingers jerk against him uncoordinatedly.

“Fuck,” Zayn moans, biting at his forearm. Every drag of Liam’s fingers inside of him brings him closer to the edge, pulling pleasure through every nerve. His back is covered in sweat, he can feel it tickling down his neck. Liam is hot against his back, his softening prick sliding against his thigh, smearing over the come collected there.

“Good?” Liam shivers out, planting his palm to the bottom of Zayn’s spine as he fucks his fingers deep. Zayn can’t respond, face contorting as a moan vibrates loudly in his throat. He moves his hand quick over himself, pulling out thick streams of precome before his orgasm hits. Liam grips his hip to keep him still, moaning softly behind him.

The flames lick over his fingers against the walls, curling down his arms as he strokes out the rest of his orgasm. It feels the same on his skin as Liam’s heartbeat does, like the fire contains a heart of its own. It feels like that emotion Zayn has come to identify as the one Liam has for him.

“Oh god,” Liam groans, easing his fingers out of Zayn before sliding them over his hips. He peppers kisses to Zayn’s jaw, until the tremble has eased some and his breathing falls back somewhat to normal.

Zayn turns, curling the arm that fire snakes around across Liam’s neck. It trails to his shoulder, disappearing but he feels the throb of it pulsing down his back. “I think your fire likes me more than you.”

Liam flashes him a lopsided grin as he presses him back against the cool wall. The fire snakes around his arms too, licking up his throat and touching the beard that he thankfully hasn’t touched since Zayn threw out his razors.

“Weird,” Liam mumbles, taking Zayn’s other hand in his own. The fire dances over the back of his hand before washing up Zayn’s arm. His eyes follow it across his chest before Liam presses back against him and the fire vanishes. “You sure you can’t feel it?”

“I can,” Zayn whispers, tickling his fingers over the back of Liam’s neck. “It feels the same way your heart does.”

Liam grins, face flushing a deeper shade of red. “Soft? ‘Cause you do feel pretty soft.”

Zayn huffs out a laugh. “Cornball,” he mumbles.

“Still weird,” Liam says quietly, cocking his head to the side shyly. “Me making you light up like a match every time I come.”

Liam’s words make his heart flutter as he snorts. “I don’t mind, Li.”

When they leave the storage closet, their shirts swapped and Liam’s inside out, voices echo through the hallways. Liam links their fingers, shrugging some as he grips his backpack with his other hand.

“Special courses day,” Liam tells him. “Malay is out for the day so I asked him if we could use the gazebo, you and I, to practice. Guardians will be there, of course.”

“Of course,” Zayn murmurs, tucking his fond smile against Liam’s shoulder. He can’t get the damn smile off of his lips every time he is around the other lad. Smitten he would say, feeling a bit foolishly head over heels if he just thinks about him. Being around him is worse, it makes his heart feel like it is growing, his bones feeling jittery and there is still a nervous twist in his gut but Liam washes it away so easily.

Liam is a distraction he can lose himself easily in. He can forget about the tension around him, the tension in Malay’s features. He doesn’t have to think about the echo of his parents’ screams that try to disturb his day, they wash away so easily when Liam’s eyes lock onto his.

In the entrance way of the steel room stands two seniors that Zayn recognizes from around campus, one of them waving his hand in their direction. They wear matching rain coats, one pink and the other blue.

“Majid,” Liam tells him before reaching out to clap the hand presented to him. “What’s up?”

“Been waitin’ for you to join us one day for special courses,” Majid explains as he tucks his hands into the pockets of his rain coat. “We don’t have many in our class so we always like bringing newbies in. And we heard about you setting off the fire alarm, so we figured you would join us soon.”

Liam’s hand grows warm against his lower back, his body stiffening some. “Oh, I don’t know. I work with the Headmaster normally. How many of you are there?”

Majid crumples his face before he responds. “Me, and Jordan here,” he says before patting the man behind him in the pink jacket. “We can control fire. Sophia, she is always late. But she can move through it and shit, it doesn’t hurt her in anyway. And Malia. She can suck up oxygen? Comes in handy.”

Jordan says something in another language at that, taking Majid’s attention for a moment. He is soft spoken, making it hard to hear the words rumbling from his mouth.

“Il peut faire du feu mon frère.”

_He can create fire my bro._

Zayn crumples his face as the words echo through his mind. There is a slight amazement wrapped around the words, and something else that makes a rush of protectiveness run through him. “He can,” Zayn says suddenly, glancing back at Majid and Jordan. “What’s wrong with that?”

Majid raises his thick brows in surprise. “Just unheard of. Malia says the only one who has done that was that guy who killed those kids awhile back.”

“Homme d’ignis,” Jordan pipes in. _Man of Ignis._

“Right,” Majid says, clapping Jordan on the shoulder. Zayn tucks his hand into Liam’s pocket on the other side of him, wanting to comfort him but no heat radiates off of him. “And the Man of Ignis.”

“Who is Malia?” Zayn asks, glancing at Liam who’s brows are crumpled and there is a pout on his lips as he glances between the two other boys and Zayn.

“She comes from the village with the Prof,” Majid answers. He holds his hands out for a moment, and the thick of his words disappears as his eyes turn to Liam. “I just want to say if you’re interested, we’re more than happy to have you. I remember how hard it was for me to learn how to get control over my power. Nearly burned Jordan one time trying to make it grow but made it soar left towards him. I’m sure creating it is hard too.”

Liam nods, a waver of a smile on his lips. “I will keep that in mind.”

Zayn tightens his arm around Liam as they walk past them, eyes latched onto him. He hears Majid say, “ _savais-tu que Malik pouvait parler français?_ ” to Jordan as they walk out.

He is going to have to talk to Malay about that, because he didn’t know he could speak French either.

“You okay?” Zayn murmurs as the cool air hits them. The trees are starting to bare, the gray sky softer like winter is coming and not angry like a rain storm is on it’s way. It hasn’t rained since his accident, it hasn’t felt grim at all.

Liam nods, curling his arm around the back of Zayn’s neck. “It would be cool, to practice with them. But like, Malay already told me my dad shows up in their coursework, often. Probably What Not To Do 101.”

Zayn rests his head against his shoulder as they walk through campus, headed towards the gazebo. “They didn’t seem to connect you to him.”

“They mentioned him?”

Zayn freezes. “You didn’t hear them?”

Liam lets out a confused sounding laugh. “All I heard was what sounded like French. Which, by the way, I didn’t know you could understand.”

He grimaces slightly, fingers gripping into Liam. He can’t. “I can’t. Or, I haven’t been able to before.”

Liam’s lips knock against his temple, and Zayn can feel the smile that takes over his lips. He knows it is a soft one. “That is wicked, babes. I wonder if you can understand other languages then.”

Zayn shrugs, wanting to turn invisible again though there is nothing but warmth in Liam’s voice. “Maybe.”

“His name isn’t tied with it by the way,” Liam tells him quietly. “I looked up articles like the ones Malay gave me? I couldn’t find his name anywhere until I searched just his name and found his court records. They were locked though.”

The sadness pouring off of him shifts suddenly into something lighter as he gives Zayn a smile. “Let’s not talk about it. I have something else to tell you.”

Mischief gleams in his eyes as Liam pulls away from him, a grin wobbling on his lips. “What?” Zayn asks, reaching out for the hands Liam holds out for him.

“We’re not meditating in the gazebo,” Liam tells him before he curls behind him, taking Zayn’s hands to cover his eyes. He waddles them forward, Zayn’s heart leaping up into his throat.

“What are we doing?”

“Proper boyfriend things.”

His heart bursts at the word, a smile erupting over his lips. “Boyfriend?”

“Well,” Liam mumbles, a shyness taking over his voice as he leads Zayn to the right. “I was going to ask you to be mine but I think I mucked that up.”

He stills then, removing his hands to reveal the gazebo. Vines lined with pink and white flowers curl around the poles and railings, and there are birds chirping and circling around them. Leaning against one of the benches is a guitar, one that he thinks is Nialler’s.

“What is this?” Zayn breathes as Liam pads him over towards it, fingers gentle around his wrist.

“Harry got the birds and flowers for me. I wanted to do it under the stars and some romantic shit like that, but curfew you know.”

Zayn bites hard on his smile as Liam guides him to the bench. He can’t look away from the shy look on Liam’s face, addicted to the way it makes his chest feel looking at him.

“You play the guitar?”

Liam jerks up a shoulder, teeth dragging over his bottom lip. “Somewhat. My Auntie Rose used to play for me. We had her stuff up in the attic and I used to play around with it when I was younger. I won’t say I’m good at it or anything. ”

He brings it up into his lap after letting go of Zayn’s hand, but he lays it over his knee to keep soaking in the warmth that radiates off of him. “This song made me think of you.”

It feels like the breath rushes from his lungs the moment Liam starts to sing, his voice just above a whisper. He didn’t even know the other lad could sing, but he sings so beautiful that even the birds stop chirping to listen.

“I’m halfway gone, sleepless I’m battle worn. You’re all I want, so bring me the dawn.”

Zayn slides his hand over Liam’s thigh as he returns the small smile on his lips. “I need the sun to break, you’ve woken up my heart. Been in the dark for weeks and I’ve realized you’re all I need.”

“I feel like a kid,” Zayn sings back, remembering the words from when Liam used to be obsessed with the song, playing nothing else for weeks during the spring semester of their freshmen year. “Too shy to speak up so I keep it hid.”

“Oh butterflies, you steal my sleep each night,” Liam sings with him, their voices mixing together softly.

Zayn pushes forward, knocking his lips against Liam’s to ease the pressure thudding in his chest, cutting off the words he parts his lips to sing. Liam laughs quietly, cupping the back of his head as he moves the guitar to the side.

“Boyfriend,” Zayn murmurs, savoring the taste of the word on his tongue. “You sure?”

Liam’s thumb drags over his hair as he nods. “Never been more sure about anything.”

Zayn drags his thumb over Liam’s beard, fighting the smile on his face. “If you shave again, we’re over.”

Liam makes a noise of complaint before he pinches his chin to drag their smiles together.

+*

Zayn flicks through video after video, listening to different languages - some of them he doesn’t even know the name of. But he understands every word.

He frowns, listening to a spanish speaking man talk through his headphones. He watches Liam across from him, the way he walks through the shelves of Malay’s library. There is a look of concentration on his face, and it is adorable the way his lips pout out and his thick brows scrunch together. The muscles under his shirt shift every time he reaches to touch the binding of a book, or to scratch at the growing thickness of his beard.

“Liam,” Zayn yells across the room. “Estas bonito.”

The corner of Liam’s lips tug downwards as he looks away from the bookshelf. He has a few of his parents books stacked up on the desk waiting for him. He has had a fascination with them, reading them whenever he is alone in his room, jotting down notes for a paper he is writing for Professor Styles’ class.

“Um, gracias?”

Zayn huffs out a laugh, mind running over the words he has learned over the hour he has been sitting here, listening to the videos. “Mo shíorghrá.”

Liam grimaces slightly, a flicker of amusement in his eyes. “I don’t even know what language that is.”

“Main tumse pyaar karta hoon.”

Liam pads over, propping a hand to the table Zayn sits in front of before he leans over to slide a kiss over his lips. “I don’t know what you said but I think I should respond me too.”

“Do you understand?” Zayn whispers, cupping his hand over the back of Liam’s neck. It has been at the front of his mind, even more now that Liam knows somewhat of how he feels for him, but he still  hasn’t grabbed the courage to say them outloud. At least, not in a language Liam understands.

“No,” Liam murmurs. “You just had this look on your face that made me feel like I probably feel the same way.”

Zayn smiles at that before letting Liam go. “What are you looking for now?”

Liam sits in the chair beside him, taking one of the books from the stack. “This book mentions your mum working on a stone that could protect you from other’s powers. I was trying to find more about it, like if she actually created it or not. But all I have found is their work for Inis.”

Liam flips open the book where he has a pink sticky note hanging off the side of the page. The book is filled with dozens of different colored ones. “You know the thing they created that can create power out of fear? That was a stone too. But like, a regular kind of stone. Do you know what she says about it?”

Zayn shakes his head, as a smile tilts over Liam’s lips.

“Well, she said she meant to create it so that the emotion that produces the power was love,” Liam explains to him softly, his smile growing. “So she said she took you in her arms when she was going to transfer her emotion into it or whatever she did to create it.”

A warmth takes over Zayn’s chest at that. “What went wrong?”

Liam shrugs, closing the book. “Something scared her.”

They fall quiet after that, as Liam returns to his reading and Zayn closes his laptop to actually focus on his work. He feels behind with everything going on, though the campus has been quiet ,he has distracted himself with Liam too much that his pile of homework has grown and grown.

Liam falls asleep eventually, head tipping back against the chair and the book he was reading forgotten on his lap when Malay finally shuffles in. He smiles tiredly, dimming the lights over head.

“How was your day?”

“No attacks so,” Zayn jokes, but Malay doesn’t laugh in response. “Where have you been all day?”

“Bradford,” Malay tells him, picking up the books Liam has opened on the desk. His eyes scan over them. “Your parents have a vault of sorts there. I was looking for a stone of theirs. But I couldn’t find it. Found something else, though.”

“What’s that?” Zayn asks. He knows about the vault. He has visited it once a few years before when Malay was taking money out for him. He wanted an iPad at the time, and it took Zayn weeks and week of convincing him he needed it before Malay finally gave in.

He digs into his pocket to retrieve a bracelet made out of leather, with dark, blue stones and rigid, solid black stones threaded into it. Zayn reaches out to take it, but Malay jerks it back.

“Don’t touch it. I don’t know what it is.”

“Then why are you touching it?”

Malay flicks his tired eyes at him. “Because I can’t die, remember? I can tell they are magic, I just - I can’t figure out what they could do. I have never seen them before, never read about your parents working on them. But it was just sitting in the middle of the vault.”

“Who put it there?”

Malay shrugs again, placing the bracelet onto the desk. He digs into his pocket again, pulling out a small, folded up envelope. “This was under it.”

He lets Zayn touch this one, but his body stills as he reads over the cursive, _For Liam._

Malay sinks his hands into his pockets. “The most perplexing part is that is your mother’s handwriting. I have read over so many of her notes for so many years, it is almost as familiar as my own.”

Zayn traces his fingers over the words. The envelope is opened, but he places it back on the desk without pulling out what is inside of it. He glances at Liam, his mouth now wide open around throaty breaths. “Did she know him?”

Malay paces as he walks. “Your mother knew the Paynes, and Karen and Liam had stayed with your parents before but Liam was very little and it was only for a short time.”

Zayn keeps his fingers on the envelope. He used to spend hours staring at his mother’s written notes, tracing over them and trying to mimic the shape of her letters. It heavies his chest, knowing he never had a letter written to him from her.

“What does it say?”

“ _Trust me_.”

He fingers at the broken seal, wanting to open it but he doesn’t. He glances at Liam instead, confusion making his head spin. “Are you going to give it to him?”

Malay takes the envelope away from him before putting both the envelope and bracelet into his pocket. “I’m going to have Styles and Green look at it with me first. Green is pretty good with objects like these, and then, yeah. Maybe. He might be the only one who can figure out what it is for.”

“And if my mother wanted to give it to him?”

Malay’s face crumples at that, lips pressed tightly together for a long moment. So long that Zayn isn’t sure he isn’t going to speak until he finally breaks the silence in quiet voice. “For now son, please don’t mention it to Liam.”

+*

Zayn wishes the guardians weren't always surrounding them, but at least this one has the courtesy to stay a few yards away. It is awkward, when all he wants to do is press his lips to Liam’s pouty ones but there are eyes flicking back to them every few minutes.

He is supposed to be reading over his notes, but he can't focus and he knows Liam is catching on because he can't stop glancing at the other lad. More than usual, as he ponders over why his mother would leave him a bracelet.

And why the note says _trust me_.

“What is it?” Liam says after awhile. He closes the notepad he has opened on his lap to give him his full attention.

“Um,” Zayn mumbles. “I just like autumn. Just, admiring the leaves.”

An amused smile crosses over Liam’s lips, one of his eyes falling shut as his head cocks towards his shoulder. “I like autumn too, but not because of the leaves.”

“Why then?”

Red rushes across his cheeks as he pushes his boot against Zayn's. “Your autumn look is my favorite.”

“What?” Zayn blurts in laughter. He scooches closer, his notebook fallen forgotten beside him. He isn't wearing anything special, just a gray jean jacket over a plain white shirt with black jeans. And a baseball cap he _thinks_ is Liam’s. But their clothes have gotten so mixed together he can't be sure.

The red only burns hotter across his cheeks as he shrugs, the crinkles by his eyes deepening as his smile grows. “And you like, wear these sweaters. That are too big for you and I dunno, they just have always made me want to cuddle the fuck out of you.”

Warmth blossoms across his chest as he takes his hat off and tucks it on top of Liam’s head. “Well you _can_ cuddle me,” he murmurs. He drags his fingers over Liam’s hot cheek, and Liam responds by pushing forward into the touch. “Especially if you fuck me first.”

The words haven’t even fully slipped past his lips before the cold blossoms over his skin as embarrassment rips through him. Liam groans quietly, eyes flitting shut as he nudges his cheek into Zayn’s palm.

“Deal,” Liam murmurs. His face crumples in frustration before he puckers his lips out, eyes clenching closed. It is so adorable that Zayn can’t _not_ press his lips to the other man’s.

“You know,” Liam breathes, eyes flicking open but Zayn still hasn’t appeared into view. “You don’t have to hide from me every time you tell me how you feel. And definitely not _that_. I mean, the feeling is definitely mutual.”

Zayn snorts, pinching Liam’s chin between his thumb and finger. He still likes it this way, being able to soak in Liam’s features without Liam seeing the embarrassing blush and smile that takes over his lips. “I can’t help it.”

“I know,” Liam murmurs softly. Zayn appears then, and Liam doesn’t hesitate to reach up to cup his cheek. “Just reminding you that you don’t have to. And I do want that, in case you were wondering.”

Liam’s thumb drags over his bottom lip, pulling out a soft exhale from his throat. Zayn nips at the tip of his finger, eyes finding the dark ones staring back at his own. It takes focus, keeping the cool from sliding over his skin again as his mind rolls over different things to say. Just thinking them rolls arousal down his spine, worsened by the heat waving off of Liam.

Liam guides him back with his lips hovering over his own, until Zayn’s back presses into the tree an inch behind him. “Whenever you want babe.”

“Now,” Zayn whispers quietly, lips pulling down into a pout. Liam’s laugh breezes over his lips before he pecks them quickly. “But I don’t think Frank will like it.”

“Frank?” Liam huffs out, dropping his hand to plant flat on the other side of Zayn’s hip.

Zayn shrugs, tilting his head back to look up at the almost bare branches above their head. “I don’t know if that is his name, he just looks like a Frank.”

Liam giggles quietly as he throws a thumb over his shoulder, at the metal covered guardian a few yards back. “I feel like he has to probably report back to Malay and I’m not sure I want him to report that.”

Zayn snorts, taking back his hat before placing it backwards on his own head. “No, I don’t either.”

+*

It is cold, probably uncomfortable for some without a jacket but Liam walks out in nothing but his t-shirt. It cools his skin but not enough, just enough that he can focus on trying to cool the fire burning through his limbs down.

He has spent the last twenty minutes watching Zayn toss and turn, listening to soft whimpers pass his lips, fear radiating off of him like a furnace. He had tried to wake him up when Zayn had gasped loudly in fear, but nothing so far has seemed to work.

He can’t watch it, and he just needs a minute to catch his breath before he goes back inside in hopes that Zayn will wake.

He nods his head towards the guardian who startles when he walks by. “Just need a smoke,” he mumbles before padding off towards the gazebo a few feet away. The guardian follows suit, though when he sits, they stay a few yards away.

Liam lights the lighter before holding his palm over it. It touches his skin the way his own fire does; gently and with no pain. It hesitates against his skin before sliding between his fingers. He sucks in a breath, trying to mimic the breathing exercises Zayn always makes him do to calm the jitter in his bones.

“Liam?”

Liam snaps his head up, taking in the kind eyes from the train station. He stiffens, lips parting open around silence as she sits beside him.

“What are you doing here?” he finally manages. Under the confusion and frustration he feels that she is here again, there is something in his chest that reminds him of the feeling he had whenever his Auntie Rose used to pat his cheek and call him her little lamb with the softest smile on her lips.

The woman places a finger to her lips, eyes darting over towards where the guardian stands. “They can’t see me.”

He glances at them then, watching as their eyes glide over him without alarm.

“How?”

She smiles patiently as she sits beside him. “I can choose who sees me and who doesn't when I want to.”

“Oh,” is all Liam can think of to say as his eyes run over the kind woman's face. Her reddish hair is pulled up into a knot at the top of her head and despite the cold weather, she only wears a thin sweater.

“I ran into James today. He has something for you, something important.”

Liam crumples his face as she folds a hand over one of his own, smiling softly. “James? What is it?”

“You know him as Malay,” she says after a moment. “It is a bracelet. Made of sapphires and tourmaline. The sapphires, they hold memories. The tourmaline is for calming.”

“But,” Liam starts, fingers flexing against her’s before he feels the pressure of her’s calming him. “Why is it for me?”

The look on her face makes his heart stutter in his chest, a tight feeling blossoming in his throat that he doesn’t understand. But it makes him feel as if the tears are going to wash up into his throat and spill out over his eyelids.

“They hold some of your memories, Liam,” she says quietly, voice so soft it worsens the feeling erupting through him. “Ones taken from you. Not all of them. There are others, hidden somewhere else.”

Her fingers tighten around his like she knows about the flare building inside of him. He tries to swallow it down, to focus on the calm underneath her fingertips. “I’m sorry I just, I don’t understand.”

“You will,” she says quietly, the soft smile still placed on her lips. “They are not pleasant, but the tourmaline should help in easing your pain when the memories come to you.”

Liam bites hard on his bottom lip, his chest cracking. “What are they?”

“Things you have seen your father do,” she says, calmly as if Liam isn't radiating a heat the feels like it could burn the gazebo to the ground. “Things no young boy should have to see.”

He looks up, trying to blink away the tears that form rapidly over his eyelids. “Like what? Why now?”

“I don't know everything they contain sunshine, only you can remember them,” the woman responds. “And I think they will help you figure out who is helping your father.”

Liam looks back at her then, the fear and sadness clear in her eyes and he finds himself wanting to comfort her. He swallows the fear burning through his limbs, focusing on making the heat go away. Anything not to let it consume him.

“Why do you think that?”

“Geoff dragged chaos through this small town where you lived when you were little. Storms, and flooding. He doesn’t have the power to control these things. One of the girls who survived the fire told the police there was a woman there. A woman that wore a big rock necklace.”

The woman's lips tug downwards, deepening the wrinkles around the corners of her mouth as a pensive look crosses her face. He waits patiently, trying to process everything she says before she speaks again. “I told you, your father wanted to create power from fear?”

Liam nods. “The Malik device.”

“Correct. Patricia put it into a stone. A regular, find from your backyard kind of stone. I believe whoever is helping your father is here with it, trying to create that fear. Hurting your friends. It is why I never stray too far. When I’m here, she stays away.”

Liam's heart thumps heavily in his chest as he narrows his eyes at her. “You left to find me, and that night my boyfriend was hurt.”

The woman cups her hands back around one of his. “I never would have if I knew James had left Zayn behind. I am surprised that he had.”

Liam sinks into himself, a weight pressing down hard on his shoulders. His stomach is starting to ache with the tension in his abdomen as he tries to keep his power at bay. “Why would my father be doing this? He is at Inis, for the rest of his life. What is the point?”

“Enough power could dismantle the protections at Inis. If they are used properly, that is. It could take some time, but James should know.”

Liam nods, fear coating his heart. “What do I say? I get the feeling you don't want me to mention you.”

She smiles softly at that. “You're right. I am here to help, but I'm afraid if anyone knew I was here it might do the opposite.”

“Why are you helping me?”

The soft smile on her lips grows as she takes his hands back into her own. “Many reasons. But most importantly, I promised I would always protect you from him. And you once protected me.”

Liam startles. “How? I don’t remember.”

She sighs softly before cupping her hand to his cheek. “You will. I have to go Liam. Wear the bracelet, it will make sense.”

Liam follows her eyes that glance behind him, at the door leading to their dorm room and the sleepy face that steps out of it. His hair is a mess above his head, his fists rubbing at his eyes before his eyes find Liam.

“Let him wear it too,” the woman says, dragging Liam’s eyes back to her. “The nightmares will go away in a few days.”

Liam parts his lips to respond as he feels Zayn walk closer to him, and the woman pulls away. The smile never leaves her lips, but Liam has to turn from it as he feels Zayn’s fingers scraping under his chin.

“What are you doing out here?” Zayn mumbles in complaint before sitting beside him. He wears a jacket, a thick one that hangs off of his shoulders. Liam offers him the lighter, but he shakes his head as his arms curl around his torso as he bends forward.

“You were having a nightmare and I couldn’t wake you up,” Liam mumbles, shifting his eyes to where he watches the woman back away. The light shines in her glossy eyes, and Liam’s fingers grip into his palm like he can still feel her touch. “It was hard for me to watch.”

Zayn shifts, reaching out to hold his hand. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Liam huffs out, curling his arm around Zayn’s shoulders to heat the icy cold of his skin. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Zayn shakes his head, fingers gripping at his thin shirt as he drags them over his belly. “No. But will you lay with me? We can keep the window open, you’re burning up.”

Liam nods, hoping Zayn can't feel the worry he feels because of the pale of his skin, and the fear clinging in his eyes.

He looks behind him as they walk off, feeling the woman's eyes on him but she has gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (i love you)


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for being a day late. I've been kind of in a funk lately and sick, so yesterday I spent almost all day in my bed and then i was like 'oh shit i forgot' and then i was too tired. I'm sorry lol, I hope you like this chapter though!!

 

The silence around them is heavy, only broken by the soft of Zayn’s breathing and the air that blows into the room from the opened window. Liam had suggested shutting it as Zayn trembled beside him, but Zayn had only shook his head and tucked closer into his side.

He is fidgety, legs shifting against his own, fingers rubbing at his skin. His lips move across his neck before stilling, his exhales harsh every few minutes.

Liam wants to break the silence and ask if he is okay, but he doesn't want to accidentally keep Zayn awake any longer. He doesn’t know how well he is able to keep Zayn’s nightmares away, but he hopes he can. A little, at least.

It is Zayn who breaks the silence first, shifting his palm over Liam's chest as he whispers his name against his neck.

“Hm?” Liam hums as Zayn pushes up to lean over him.

He strokes a thumb over his beard gently, his eyes heavy. “I can't sleep,” he mumbles. “And I don't want to.”

Liam shifts his fingers over his spine. “Your nightmare was that bad?”

Zayn only gives him a small nod of his head before he drops a gentle kiss to his lips. “Can you um, help me think about something else?”

His voice wavers with nerves, and Liam smoothes his fingers over his skin in hopes of relieving them. “Of course.”

“Unless you're tired,” Zayn mumbles, tickling the tip of his nose against Liam's with his lips parted over his own. “You don’t have to stay awake with me.”

He _is_ , but Zayn's tongue flicks out against his bottom lip and it sparks a flame low in his belly. Liam tilts his chin, hand coming up to press against the back of Zayn's head to guide their lips together.

“Just want you,” Zayn breathes between the slow dance of their lips. He is hesitant in the way he shifts over him, until Liam gently grips his thigh to guide him the rest of the way. It coaxes a soft moan from the man, muffled as his tongue pushes between his lips.

Zayn's fingers are a soft pressure against his skin, tickling over his beard and dragging across his throat. The soft sighs from him fill the room, warming through Liam until his skin feels coated in them. Liam palms over his back, savoring the jitter of his muscles under his touch, and the way Zayn’s hips stutter against his own when he glides his palm over his hip.

“How do you want me?” Liam breathes as Zayn eases a kiss over his jaw.

Zayn's breath hitches as he rolls his hips down, fingers flexing over Liam’s side. “In me.”

A soft moan flutters off of Liam’s tongue as he grips Zayn jaw with gentle fingers to bring their lips back together. The soft, pleading sound of Zayn's voice wrecks through him, his hips rocking up to fall in pace with Zayn’s.

Zayn pushes up from him, a dark look in the eyes locked onto his own as he grabs the collar of his shirt to pull it off. Liam warms his fingers over the inside of Zayn’s thighs, eyes trailing down the bare skin revealed. He could look at Zayn all day if his lips didn’t ache to press against his skin.

Liam pushes up to pepper kisses across his collarbone, an arm snaking around his waist to keep him settled onto his lap. Zayn’s fingers tangle in the hair at the back of his head as he scatters kisses across his skin, until he makes a needy noise in his throat and guides Liam back.

Liam rolls until Zayn is on his side. He slides his fingers over Zayn’s neck, sighing softly against the kiss pressed to his lips. “You sure?”

“Mhm,” Zayn murmurs, folding his hand over the back of Liam’s neck as he lowers himself flat onto his back.

“I don’t have,” Liam starts before falling quiet as Zayn kisses him again. His fingers stroke over the back of his neck, lighting fire across his skin like the striker of a match.

“Niall probably does,” Zayn murmurs quietly. Liam pushes up but Zayn’s fingers dig in like he doesn’t want him to go.

He hovers his smile over Zayn’s. “Have to let me check, baby.”

A wrinkle appears between Zayn’s eyebrows as he flutters his eyes open. “Go on.”

Liam practically trips over his feet stumbling over towards Niall’s empty bed. He pulls out the box underneath, wrinkling his nose as the amount of boxes of condoms and tubes of lube inside of it. He grabs an unopened box, silently thanking Niall before tripping back over to Zayn.

“I won’t dare to touch his lube,” Liam huffs out as he climbs over Zayn. A bright smile takes over the other lad’s lips as he rubs his hands over Liam’s chest, until his fingers curl into the dips of his shoulders to pull him closer. “I’ll just have to use my mouth.”

Zayn moans quietly as his hand disappears from view. Liam smiles, curling his fingers over his invisible wrist to gentle a kiss over his fingers. “I’ll have to see you.”

Zayn bites at his smile as he nods. “Nervous.”

“I won’t then,” Liam breathes, nudging his nose against Zayn’s.

Zayn shakes his head, lips pouting out. “I _want_ you to, just nervous.”

Liam slots their lips together, kissing him slow for a long moment before he pulls back. “Are you sure? Don’t feel -”

Zayn shakes his head again, cutting him off. “I want to.”

“Turn around then, love,” Liam whispers, plopping a soft kiss to his throat before he rolls off of him.

Zayn does as he asks, huffing out a shuddered breath as he settles his cheek against the pillow. Liam can feel the nerves lingering on his skin, and he tries his best to kiss them away as he trails his lips over Zayn’s spine.

He palms over Zayn’s skin, warming his hands over Zayn’s bum and dragging them over the back of his thighs. He admires how responsive Zayn is, his bum rolling up into his touch and legs jerking wider to fit him between.

Liam drags his teeth over his skin as he cups Zayn’s cheeks, breathing softly as he feels the jump of Zayn’s heart. There is a tension taking over the muscles of his back, his chest rising quick around harsh breaths.

“Babe,” Liam says softly. He breathes over him as he parts his cheeks gently, but Zayn’s gasp makes it seem as if the touch had been rough. “I got you.”

Zayn’s hands disappear from where they twist into the pillow he rests on, his face contorting as his eyes shut and Liam only looks at him for a moment before he presses his lips between his cheeks.

He doesn’t hesitate, not wanting to show the nerves Zayn feels. He licks at Zayn slow, tongue pointed and circling his hole. The other man whimpers and gasps, sending a heat down Liam’s spine with every sound.

Liam spits softly, watching it trail down Zayn’s hole before he presses his thumb against him. Zayn gasps, his heart pounding heavy in Liam’s ears.

His skin practically glows as his invisibility leaks from his hands and up to his arms. Liam can’t see through him, but the trail is bright like it is absorbing the light from the moon that shines from the window. He can’t seem to pull his eyes away until Zayn’s hips press up needily against his thumb.

Liam digs in his teeth to the round of Zayn’s bum gently, trying to distract Zayn from the pinch of pain that he knows will come from the push of his thumb past his hole. It makes the streaks of light creep over the inch of Zayn’s shoulders.

“Okay?” Liam murmurs softly, peppering kisses across Zayn’s skin. The moment his voice sounds through the room, the light across his skin shrinks like it is retreating slowly back to his hands.

“Mhm,” Zayn hums like his lips are pressed tightly together. He huffs out a harsh breath as Liam replaces his thumb with a finger, curling slowly inside of him. “Feels good.”

“You do,” Liam says quietly, making sure his words work to continue shrinking the light. “Can’t wait to get inside you, baby.”

Zayn whimpers quietly as he tightens around his digit. Liam licks around it, messily so the spit from his tongue slicks his finger to fuck deeper. “I can’t - Liam, I can’t feel your um -”

Liam’s stomach is tense with trying to keep his warmth in, but it has seemed easy with his focus on touching Zayn. He lets it seep away from him some, until Zayn is letting out a pleased noise.

“Better?” Liam breathes before he dips the tip of his tongue with the drag of his finger. The heat takes over him too, sliding over his skin and trailing through every vein. Zayn’s skin is the opposite, cool to the touch. Only his hands are gone, a twinkle of light dancing off of them.

“Yeah,” Zayn whispers, tucking his face into the pillow. Liam pumps his finger a few times before rolling the tip of the second against it.

Zayn’s body tenses again as Liam pushes his second finger past the rim slowly, his back arching as he rolls his hips up into the touch. The soft whimpers Zayn lets out with every push and spread of Liam’s fingers seem deafeningly loud, pounding against his ears. The sound is almost as overwhelming as the way Zayn’s hips grind back against his fingers as Liam nudges a third into him, pulling them deep until he nudges against that ball of nerves.

“Oh -” Zayn starts, followed by a wrecked noise that soars through Liam. Liam groans roughly, teeth nipping at Zayn’s skin before he is pulling up. He eases his fingers out gently, eyes locked on the stretch of Zayn’s rim around them. He drags the pressure under his fingers over Zayn’s hips, pulling his bum flush against him before he is leaning forward to scatter kisses across his back again.

“Okay?” Liam breathes, peppering a soft kiss to Zayn’s neck. He can feel the fast pace of his pulse under his lips and across his chest, which rises and falls almost as quickly as Zayn’s.

“Yeah,” Zayn breathes. “Wanna see you.”

Liam pushes up just enough to let Zayn turn around underneath him. His dark eyes are heavy but overwhelmed, his bottom lip swollen like he had been biting on it. Liam coaxes a soft kiss across them, feeling Zayn’s gasp rush over his tongue.

“Want me?” Liam murmurs, tracing his fingers over Zayn’s cheek as he fumbles with his other hand to find where he placed the condom.

“Always do,” Zayn whispers back, cupping his hand over Liam’s hip as he pushes up on his knees to rip open the condom package. Liam bites his bottom lip hard not to moan as he wraps his hand around the base of his length, or from the feeling of the pressure of his fingers as he rolls the latex down himself. “You know -”

Liam flicks his eyes up back to Zayn, whose eyes are wide with the nerves he can feel radiating off of him.

“What?” Liam murmurs, curling his hand over Zayn’s thigh to bring his leg over his hip. Zayn shutters out a harsh breath, reaching up quickly to grab the back of Liam’s neck.

“I just,” Zayn huffs out, fingers pressing hard into the back of Liam’s neck as his leg jerks out to fit Liam between them. Liam’s heart thumps heavy in anticipation as he curls his fingers back around his length. It feels as if the breath is stuck in his lungs, arousal pouring rushing through him as he waits for Zayn to speak.

“I love you, Liam.”

The breath stuck in his lungs rushes out of him, his heart expanding at the soft of Zayn’s voice as he says it. The feeling makes it hard to speak, so he doesn’t, he just pushes his lips against Zayn’s until he can focus on breathing properly.

“I love you, too,” Liam murmurs quietly, nudging his nose against Zayn’s. “Not sure those words are even enough to describe how I feel for you, really.”

“Liam,” Zayn groans quietly. “I can feel it.”

Liam nods, gripping Zayn’s thigh roughly as he moves his hips forward, nudging the head of his cock between Zayn’s cheeks. “Want to feel more of me?”

There is a brightness in Zayn’s eyes as he huffs out a hoarse laugh, chin tilting up to capture his lips as Liam eases his hips forward.

Liam moves as slowly as possible, pulling Zayn’s other thigh over his other hip. Their kiss isn’t much of a kiss, more of lips parted against each other to exchange harsh breaths.

Red flickers over his eyelids, and he opens them to see the fire trailing down Zayn’s bearded chin. Zayn doesn’t seem to notice as he knocks his head back against the pillow, lips parted around a soft gasp as Liam bottoms out.

“Sorry,” Liam murmurs, stilling as he trails a finger over the flame. They flicker over his arms and he can see them in the corner of his eyes, like they are trailing across his own beard too.

Zayn flickers his eyes open and he doesn’t hesitate to press his palm against Liam’s cheek as he nudges his hips back against him. “Don’t be,” he whispers, rubbing his thumb over the corner of Liam’s mouth. “I love them too.”

“That’s fucked babe,” Liam huffs out. He tries to focus on pulling the flames away, but he can’t seem to think about anything other than how Zayn feels tight around him, the soft of his skin pressed against his own. Everything around him is Zayn, from the touch to the smell of his cologne, the way his heart pulses over his skin.

He doesn’t think he has ever felt anything so overwhelmingly good.

“Shush,” Zayn responds, his lips tugging up. “And move please.”

Liam slides his fingers over Zayn’s arm, ticking them over his hand before nudging them between his fingers. He places their entwined fingers above Zayn’s head, stitching it into the pillow as he props an elbow on the other side of his head.

“Good?” Liam breathes, nudging his lips against Zayn’s as the heels of Zayn’s feet dig into his back.

“Yeah,” Zayn moans quietly, eyes flicking open. They glow the way his skin had, his warm brown eyes exchanged out for tiny white suns that burn through Liam, settling at his solar plexus. He gasps from the feeling, the tightness in his abdomen and the rush of cool that takes over his limbs.

“What?” Zayn breathes, brows pushing together as the light flickers away. He rubs his hands over Liam’s back before settling his palm at his neck.

“Nothing,” Liam breathes before slotting their lips together. He is careful in the way he rocks his hips forward, grinding into Zayn and pulling out soft sighs from the other lad.

The feeling that takes over him is nothing he can explain as his body moves in sync with Zayn’s. A tug of cold and hot through his limbs, a curl of arousal in his belly and the pressure of affection in his chest. Sweat slicks over Zayn’s thighs, making Liam’s fingers slip over his skin as he attempts to grip onto him as he strokes deep. He wants to take it slow, fuck into Zayn with slow soft strokes, but the build of Zayn’s moans and the pressure of Zayn’s fingers against his neck stops him.

“Ah,” Zayn chokes out, lips knocking against Liam’s so the taste of his moans roll over his tongue. His palm slides over Liam’s sweaty chest, fingers pressing in as the sound of their slick skin slapping each other grows in the quiet room and Liam gasps.

It feels like a flame lights over his heart, making his throat tight and his belly swoop. He chokes out, pressing more of his weight onto Zayn as the feeling consumes him.

Zayn’s palms move over his back as he works his hips in attempt to meet each of Liam’s thrusts. His hands are hot and hard against his bum as he grips his fingers into his cheeks, a rough sound passing over Zayn’s lips as his head tilts back into the pillow.

Liam grazes his teeth over the rapid beat of his heart under his sensitive skin. Zayn trembles and shivers underneath him, and the clench around his prick threatens to break the growing ball of pleasure in his navel.

“Jaan,” Zayn chokes out as his hips jerk once before he stills. Liam moans quietly against his skin, slapping his hips against Zayn’s quickly as he feels Zayn’s orgasm pulling him close to his own.

Zayn’s palms slide over his throat as Liam comes, guiding his head up so Zayn’s lit up eyes can scan over his face. For once Liam feels like he should turn invisible as the pleasure makes his face twist, the sound ripping from his throat choked out and loud. “ _Babe_.”

“Liam,” Zayn huffs out hoarsely as Liam knocks their foreheads together, trying to calm the tremble taking over every inch of his muscles. His eyes still shine and Liam can’t seem to look away. “Tell me you feel it too.”

Liam crunches his brows together as he eases his hips back, but his confusion seeps away as the feeling in his chest. It is a pulse of his heart, matching the same pulse coming from Zayn. But it is different than before, an overwhelming feeling.

“Yeah,” Liam breathes, nudging his nose against Zayn’s before he slots their lips together just right. He kisses Zayn slowly, that feeling in his chest never disappearing. Zayn’s skin feels hotter than his own, which is cooler than usual.

He kisses Zayn until his body relaxes, until Zayn pulls back just enough to whisper a soft I love you against his lips.

“I love you too,” Liam murmurs, shifting off of the other lad but he doesn’t move too far. Zayn moves with him, pressing against his chest as he strokes his hand over Liam’s cheek.

The light is gone from his eyes, and a softness takes over his boyfriend’s features as he looks at him. His eyes are heavy with sleep, and Liam hopes he _can_ finally sleep.

+*

Zayn dips his toes in the water, watching the it splash across his calves. It is warm, a muggy hot surrounding him, and the chlorine burns his nose but he smiles as he eyes over the relaxed look on Scout’s face who moves gracefully through the water.

Scout had asked him this morning to come along while he had been making coffee, with a quiet nervous voice that made his chest ache. It is the first time that they have been back since the flood, and Zayn couldn't find it in himself to say no. And he is thankful Scout doesn't mind that he doesn't actually want to get into the water.

He takes his phone as it vibrates against the tile floor, a smile already taking over his lips as he reads Liam’s name.

_thx for the coffee babe x:) goin 4 a run with Lou c u later?_

The ghost of his fingertips make him shudder as he thinks of the rough way Liam had moaned babe the night before. It makes his face feel hot thinking about it, contrasting with the cool over his back. He can’t stop thinking about the way Liam’s eyes had lit up like they held tiny suns in them, which is ironic because Liam normally shines bright like the sun. Or about the feeling of flames licking through his limbs, like he was experiencing the way Liam always feels.  

Zayn types back a quick ‘anything for you, of course’ before settling the phone back onto the tile. Niall and Harry had come with them, after Scout had caught them trying to sneak in early in the morning.

There is a light feeling in the air, and Zayn doesn't know if that is because of the warmth circulating through his muscles or the announcement that came early this morning that the curfew has been lifted during daylight hours. But he soaks it in, letting the smile take over his lips without trying to fight it off.

“Look!”

Scout’s fingers curl over his ankle as they float beside his legs. There is a brightness in their eyes before they flutter shut.

Their skin goes shiny and hardens and Scout rips open their eyes. There is a wide, proud grin on their lips as they slip their fingers over their cheeks. “Scales.”

Zayn exhales out as he scrapes a tentative finger over Scout’s cheek. Their skin is glossy before he drags his finger in the opposite direction and the texture is rougher, like a gentle grater. “Wicked.”

They sink into the water a little, a smile playing over their lips. “I think I can do more than just camouflage bro, like change the texture of my skin too. Like, last night I practically turned into a rhino when Li sent the temp up as high as he did. My skin was hard like a rock, like the Thing.”

Warmth covers Zayn’s cheeks as he splashes water towards Scout. “At least he didn't set anything on fire. I'm surprised, given what we -”

He cuts off when Scout dunks their head under water. They come back up with their scales gone and a displeased look on their face. “You mean to tell me that I had to suffer last night so Liam could get off?”

Zayn snorts, swirling his feet back through the water. “It's what bros are for.”

Scout rolls their eyes before they lie flat over the water, arms spread to keep them afloat. “Walked in on Griff tellin’ his girl some nasty - like nasty, nasty shit he was going to do and then suffered through Liam the furnace. I need my own room, and someone to make y'all suffer too.”

Zayn huffs out a laugh as Scout pinches their nose until it wrinkles. “You’ll find someone.”

“I don't know that I actually want to,” Scout sighs as their eyes flutter shut. “I just rather deal with my crisis about wanting a relationship but hating relationships at the same time than actually figuring it out.”

“While being surrounded by relationships?”

Scout groans, their eyes flicking open to glare at them. “Yeah, we suffered through years of your pining, but I'm not sure which is worse.”

They still then, head tipping back in the water as a rush of a heartbeat coats Zayn's skin. A smile is tugging at his lips before he even lifts his eyes to take in the lazy grin taking over his boyfriend’s lips.

Liam wears only a thin shirt despite how cold it is becoming outside, his fingers tucked into his trackies’ pockets. As he nears, Zayn eyes over the purple stained above his birthmark - faint but still noticeable, and the darker bruise on his bottom lip.

“Hey,” Liam greets as he sits cross legged beside him, not taking his trainers off. He holds a reusable cup between his palms, filled with a smoothie he is sure. “Thought I'd stop by before my run with Louis.”

Zayn leans forward, swiping his grin over Liam's lips until he kisses him softly. He can taste the strawberry banana on Liam's tongue as he flicks it against his bottom lip. “What are you doing up?”

There are dark circles under his eyes, and though his skin is pink as always, there is a paleness to it. It is his fault Liam had stayed up the night before, and he feels bad he fell asleep so hard tangled up with Liam while the other lad probably didn't sleep for awhile after.

“I'll nap later,” Liam promises him softly.

There is a splashing sound that drags their attention to Scout, who swims away with an amused grin on their lips. “That's for last night.”

Zayn looks back at Liam, at the dark stain of water across his pants and the water droplets lingering across his shirt. He blurts out a laugh, cupping his hot cheeks to smother a kiss to his pouted lips.

“It's your fault,” Liam murmurs, a spark of amusement in his tired eyes.

“I know,” Zayn laughs quietly. “Sorry.”

Liam's fingers curl in his shirt, tugging him closer. “Never be sorry for making me feel the way I do about you.”

+*

The cafeteria is practically empty, other than a few first years and those at Liam’s table. Which is just him and Niall really. The Headmaster has lifted the curfew during the day hours, and since then he has barely seen his other roommates.

He stares out the window at the guardians still lingering about, at the clear blue sky. It hasn’t rained in days, and he can’t stop thinking about what the woman from the train had told him, that there is someone out there helping his father. He hasn’t mentioned it to Malay yet, nor Zayn, because he knows he would just make him tell the Headmaster about her.

“What is it?” Nialler asks, dragging him away from his thoughts of how he can no longer feel that pulse of toxic power through the air around them. Niall’s face is crumpled together as he stares at Liam.

“What?”

Niall stabs his fork into one of the potatoes on Liam’s plate. “I’ve knicked half of your food and you haven’t even noticed.”

Liam glances down at his almost empty plate, sighing. “Just tired.”

Niall frowns, waving his fork at him. “You’ve been like this for a few days now, mate. What is it?”

Liam sighs again, pressing his knuckles to his chin as he elbows the table. He hasn’t told Niall anything about his father, and he has been a good lad about not asking about his burns, or prying at all. There is no reason not to tell him, especially since Niall’s dad has barely been around too so the other lad will understand, but his throat feels tight as he thinks about doing so.

“I’m your best mate,” Niall goes on, a gentle expression taking over his face. “And we haven’t seen each other much ‘cause o’ Harry and allat, but I know something is bothering you. And you know you can tell me.”

Liam drags his fork through the few pieces of potato left on his plate. “I went to go see my dad.”

A sad look takes over Niall’s face as he nods, his finger reaching up to twist through a tuft of hair over his ear. “I was wondering where you went that day.”

Liam nods, flicking his eyes between Niall’s face and his plate. “The Headmaster thinks he has something to do with the attacks. Like, with Scout and um, Zayn.”

Niall’s finger twists furiously through his hair as he frowns. “What? Why would he think that?”

Liam shrugs, pushing his plate to the side. “It’s a long story, mate. He just, did something like this before. It is too similiar not to be a coincidence.”

Niall stills his finger before tucking his hands into his lap. “Is that why you went to see him?”

His breath hitches as he nods, curling his arms onto the table before plopping his chin to his arm. “Yeah, but he started apologizing for hurting me and that topic kind of got lost.”

“Understandable,” Niall murmurs as Liam shifts up, feeling the steady heartbeat floating through the cafeteria. He looks around until he finds him, padding through the front entrance. His fingers are clenched around the straps of his backpack, earbuds in his ears. He wears a puffy winter jacket, his hair tucked underneath a beanie. His beard has grown so long Liam thinks he is going to die because of how much he loves it. Zayn recently mentioned coloring his hair blond and Liam has been dropping hints here and there for him to actually do it.

“And you know I understand. I have a feeling my dad wasn’t as much of a dick as yours, but him being gone still hurts,” Niall says before he snorts loudly. Liam drags his eyes away from Zayn to look at the amused look on his best mate’s face.

“You guys are strange, you know that, yeah?”

“What?” Liam huffs out, feeling the uneasiness seep out of him as he takes in the bright smile that takes over Zayn’s lips when he finds him. He hasn’t mentioned the way Zayn had lit up the night before, unsure of what to make of it.

Or what to make of the tug and pull at his power, the way his heart felt with his body tangled with Zayn’s like that. It is overwhelming, but like the good kind he wants to drown himself in.

“It’s like, I dunno. Have ya ever heard about the Hidden Queen?”

Liam frowns as he nods. Zayn has mentioned it before when he had told him about the Man of Ignis, a heat manipulator. But he never looked into it. “What about her?”

An amused grin shifts over his best mate’s lips. “No one knew what she looked like, or that she even existed. The only one who ever spoke with her was the Grand Duchess, her sister. She stayed invisible, all of the time. But her lover, Ignis, could tell where she was at all times. Like, he could sense her in the room, could find her in the middle of the woods at night, _while_ she was invisible.”

Liam wrinkles his nose. “What are you saying?”

Niall shrugs, looking up at Zayn who passes him to sit next to Liam. “Dunno. Figured it was the same with you.”

Something flutters in Liam’s chest as Zayn’s fingers slide over his shoulder. His nose wrinkles with the soft smile he gives him, making him glow cotton practically with how soft he looks.

“I reckon so,” Liam mumbles, causing Niall to snort loudly.

“Reckon what?” Zayn asks as he slips off his backpack. He doesn’t take his coat off, and Liam knows it is because his fingers feel like ice as they slip over his thigh. He can feel it even through his dress pants.

“Nothin’,” Liam mumbles, cupping his hand over Zayn’s. “How did your session with Malay go?”

Zayn shrugs before digging into his jacket pocket. “He gave me something for you.”

Liam’s breath gets stuck in his lungs as he sees the leather bracelet Zayn produces from his pocket. The smile falls off of Zayn’s face as he hands it to him, replaced with something that he can’t read.

It is beautiful, the gems stitched onto it catching the light that hangs overhead. There are small spirals stitched into the leather that Liam traces his fingers over, his heart thumping heavily in his chest as he remembers the spiral stained next to Zayn’s window.

The woman from the train says she always stays nearby, and he wonders if that is her mark to let him know she is there, watching over them.

“What is it?” Liam asks, hoping his curiosity sounds genuine as he admires it. He can feel the pulse of power under his fingertips, and that same wash of comfort that came from the woman.

“Dunno,” Zayn tells him, pulling out a folded envelope with his name on it. “Malay found it, he doesn’t know where it came from.”

 _I do_ , Liam thinks as he opens the already opened envelope. He eyes the small _trust me_ scribbled onto the paper inside, a warmth taking over his chest. He does, and he knows he shouldn’t. Or at least, he knows he should be skeptical about it.

He doesn’t know why she hadn’t just said it was from her, since she must have known he could feel her in the bracelet. The same way she knew he could feel that he could trust her.

“It will take your nightmares away,” Liam says quietly, reaching for Zayn’s arm. He tenses some, staring confused at the soft smile Liam gives him.

“Why would it be left for you then? How do you know that?”

Liam shrugs, taking the two strings around the ends and tying them together around his wrist. He hates the lie, it makes his chest tight. “I don’t know how I know, I just do.”

Zayn looks skeptical as he glances at Niall, who looks as confused as he steals more potatoes from Liam’s plate. “Malay says the black stones are for calming.”

Liam nods, thumbing over the inside of Zayn’s wrist. “I can feel it,” he whispers quietly. She had said it has memories taken from him, and he doesn’t know how she got them, but he doesn’t want to know them. He wants it to take away Zayn’s nightmares more than anything else.

And he doesn’t want the memories taken from him to start plaguing his own dreams.

Zayn looks at him for a long time before he settles his hands into his lap. He hates the unsure look in his eyes, causing his chest to tighten with guilt because Zayn has to know he is lying. He has never been good at it, especially with Zayn.

“I have my session now,” Liam says, eyeing the watch wrapped around his wrist. He leans over, hovering his lips over Zayn’s until Zayn pecks his lips. “Love you.”

A soft smile breaks across Zayn’s lips as he curls his fingers into Liam’s uniform shirt. “Love you too,” he whispers against his lips.

There is a trickle of rain falling from the blue sky when Liam steps out of the cafeteria to head towards the steel room. There is a chatter of nerves in his belly, because Malay wanted him to work with the others today.

It is just Majid and Jordan when he steps into the building, talking quietly with the Headmaster. He talks with hands, palms out towards the students before he glances at Liam walking in.

“Mr. Payne,” Malay greets, curling his hand around Liam to pull him close. “This is Majid Al Maskati and Jordan Ullman. Last years.”

“We’ve met,” Liam mumbles, tucking his fingers into his pockets. He feels his face grow hot, but Malay doesn’t move his fingers away from him. He _is_ getting better at flinging the temperature up high, he just wishes he could keep his body from burning.

“Don’t be nervous,” Malay whispers, digging his fingers in some. “I wanted to try something today, and these two agreed to help.”

Liam nods, shifting his eyes over the smiles presented to him. They have always been nice, but he feels as if any moment one of them is going to mention that his father is a murderer who possesses the same power as him.

“I want you to produce fire, in your palm. The way you showed me, but keep it small and contained,” Malay tells him before he lets his grip go of him and steps aside. Both Majid and Jordan step back too, as Liam swallows thickly and pulls his hand from his pocket.

It takes him longer than normal, because he struggles to calm the nervous off pace beat of his heart. He stares at his palm, huffing out and there is a moment he considers giving up before the flame bursts from the center of his hand.

“Wow,” Majid whispers, the flicker of the flame reflecting in his eyes. “Should I?”

Liam doesn’t know what he means but he looks to Malay, who nods his head. “Liam, just focus on keeping the flame the size it is.”

Liam frowns, parting his lips to ask why before the flame grows. He glances at Majid, whose fingers dance in the air. The fire follows along, and a fear sinks it’s way into his stomach.

“No,” Liam murmurs to himself, focusing on bringing the flame back to it’s original size. _It’s mine to control_ echoes loudly in his head, the thought aggravated.

“ _Merde_ ,” Jordan murmurs as he steps beside Majid, his hand darting out to follow the same motion. A flare erupts in Liam’s chest as he darts his eyes back to the flame, whispering quietly to it to stay the size it is. He can feel the pressure under the flame against his palm, like a string pulling at his skin.

Majid huffs out roughly as the flame disappears. He looks exhausted, a line of sweat covering his brow that he wipes at with the back of his hand. His chest rises and falls quickly, like he is trying to catch his breath.

“Wow,” he murmurs, holding a hand out for Liam. Liam claps it, letting Majid pull him close to pat his back. “How did you do that?”

Liam shrugs, teeth gliding over his bottom lip as he glances at Malay. There is a flutter of pride in his chest, and an urge to call Zayn to tell him about it right away. “It’s mine to control. So I did.”

Malay nods, a proud smile on his lips. “Let’s try again.”

By the time they are finished, Liam feels burnt out. He shakes hands with his two older classmates, a new fondness for them over their frustrated looks.

Malay keeps his hand planted to his back as they walk out of the steel room. Liam wonders if he is going to mention the bracelet, but he doesn’t. He stays quietly mostly, after telling him how proud he is.

And he isn’t sure he can put his gratitude for that into words, but he tries.

“Liam,” Malay says as they pass the gazebo outside of his dorm room. “I would like to have you over for dinner tomorrow. There are some things I would like to discuss with you.”

Liam tenses up as he nods. “Erm, okay.”

The look on Malay’s face is calm, his eyes kind as always but Liam’s heart thuds loudly against his chest. “What do you like?”

Liam shrugs awkwardly. “Er - anything.”

Malay huffs out a laugh, clapping him hard on the shoulder. “Alright, I will see you then. Bring Zayn, and the bracelet, okay?”

Liam nods, teeth chattering against his bottom lip. If Zayn mentions the lady from the train station, and finds out he hasn’t told Malay yet, he knows both of them are going to be upset with him.

“Alright.”

“I am very proud of you,” Malay whispers quietly, clapping a gentle hand to the back of his head. “You’ve progressed very quickly, and very well. You should be very proud of yourself.”

+*

“Can anyone tell me about self actualization?”

Professor Styles claps his hands together, lips pushing out as his eyes scan over the lack of care from Zayn and his classmates. They made the mistake of putting the heat on in the classrooms, and it feels sweltering though he knows it isn’t radiating from Liam. But everyone glares at Liam like it is his fault, and it is making Zayn irritable.

“Anyone?” he pushes, laying his hands flat and facing upwards. “No one can tell me how Rogers thought self actualization related to us? Even though it is one of the things that had motivated the Headmaster to create the Academy to begin with?”

Liam’s hand lifts tentatively in the air, and Zayn sighs, dragging his eyes away because he doesn’t want to see the hurt that crosses his features when Styles’ eyes shift over him like he is unseen.

“We want to fullfill our potential? To achieve the highest level of human beingness? Or, in our case, more than that?”

Zayn watches where his pen hovers over his notebook, though he can’t seem to press down and drag it across the lines to trace out the words Professor Styles says. The heat taking over him is uncomfortable, but his bones feel frozen. There is a fogginess in his mind like he could fall asleep at any moment, his eyes burning.

He glances up, brows furrowing as he watches the Professor’s lips move but no words come out. The only sound he hears is the thud of his heart, and an echo of a scream that he can't tell is in his mind or around him.

He glances around, at the bored look of his classmates. Liam is three rows away, staring straight at the Professor. The classmates shift around their seats, tap their pencils and fidget, but Liam doesn’t move a muscle.

Zayn gasps quietly as fire licks up Liam’s back. The other lad - _no one_ even seems to notice. But his nose burns with the smell, his eyes watering as he coughs out. The smoke that billows from Liam’s clothes isn’t a lot, but it feels as if it is leaking through every one of his pores.

He scrambles up in panic, pushing through the tables as the fire leaks off of Liam. It runs up the walls and over the desks, but no one moves. Liam doesn't even look at him as he approaches, when he screams his name for his attention.

“Liam,” Zayn whispers urgently, tucking his fingers over his cheeks. They are wet with tears, streaming steadily down his face. He finally moves, lips parting around a sob. “It's okay.”

Liam shakes his head, eyes clenching closed. “He's going to come back.”

Zayn stiffens. The fire dancing over the back of his hands doesn't hurt but the way Liam trembles underneath him does. The smoke makes the tears in his eyes burn, but he can’t move until he gets Liam’s attention. “What?”

“Papa,” Liam whimpers quietly, fingers curling around Zayn's wrist. “He's going to find us in here.”

“Liam,” Zayn sputters out, mind racing. All he wants to do is get Liam out of here, but he can’t seem to move his feet. Just like the rest of his classmates, who do nothing around him.“He's in prison.”

There is a slam from the side as the door swings open, and Liam’s scream echoes in his ears as fire pours through the entryway. The normal wooden door is replaced by an all white one, whose window shatters from the force of the slam against the white wall. An echo of a song hits his hears, a nursery rhyme that sounds like it is coming from a far distance.

“Liam, we need to go,” Zayn murmurs, grabbing Liam's hand to pull him from his seat. The smoke is overwhelming and makes it hard for him to see the desks surrounding him, but as he pulls right with his fingers curled around Liam’s wrist, he realizes they have disappeared.

Zayn glances around in panic, at the burning walls and the now empty classroom. The desks are replaced with lab tables and it isn't Professor Styles at the front, but the shadow of a man. Flames surround the strange man, similiar to the way Liam’s take over him but worse. The man is nothing but a shadow silouhette behind them.

“Liam!”

Liam appears in front of him, shifting a hand over his cheek. There is panic in his eyes but his smile remains soft. “Zayn, wake up.”

+*

Zayn stares at the white ceiling above him. He is in the infirmary again, and he hates it this time more than anything. The smell bothers his nose and the sheets scratch his skin. He tilts his head to the side to glare at the machines that are thankfully quiet.

He can't get it out of his head, Liam’s scream. He woke up to a set of terrified eyes and the rest of his classmates’ latched onto him from where they sat in their seats. It made it hard to hear what Liam was saying, and he can't even be sure Liam heard what he said in response before everything disappeared again.

_I won't let him get you._

Liam sleeps on a chair against the wall, head tilted back and lips open wide. He had insisted he needn't be here but both Malay and Liam practically forced him to stay. Just to relax, Malay had said, but he feels anything but relaxed. His eyes burn and his body aches, his ears ring and his throat fucking kills.

“Mr. Malik.”

Zayn turns to see a Healer, an older man in all green scrubs. The coarse hair of his black beard is dusted with white, scaling up his cheeks to where Zayn knows he is bald underneath the green cap he wears.

“Your friend there told us you have nightmares often, is that correct?”

Zayn nods his head slightly, fidgeting his fingers under his drying shirt. His skin feels sticky with sweat, though there is an icy feeling wrapped around his bones.

“And that they have been becoming progressively worse?”

Zayn glances at Liam for a moment before he nods again. His throat is dry and scratchy, the tip of his tongue throbbing like he has bitten it.

“The Headmaster brought you here because you were screaming in pain, seemingly awake,” the Healer goes on gently. “Does that always happen when you have these nightmares?”

He digs his teeth into his bottom lip harshly as he shakes his head. He doesn't even remember falling asleep, and it seems so clear in his head like it happened. But he remembers waking up in the classroom, though the fire never went away. The smell still lingers in his nose, just like the screams echoing in his ears.

“Once,” he croaks out. “I thought I was sleep walking.”

“And there was fire?”

Zayn nods. “I didn't scream though. I just made it go away and told my boyfriend I was sleep walking until he helped me back to bed.”

The Healer tucks his hands into the pockets of his green pants. “Usually people don't know they are sleep walking when it is happening.”

Zayn frowns as he twists his fingers into his shirt. “What do you mean?”

The Healer looks hesitant for a moment before he speaks. “I would like to set up an appointment for you with Dr. Davis. It isn't uncommon for those who have suffered a great trauma to have flashbacks, nightmares, and sleep deprivation can lead to possible halluc-”

“Excuse me,” Zayn coughs out, his throat burning. “Dr. Davis from psychological services? I haven't suffered a great trauma.”

The Healer looks patient as he sighs, giving him a slight nod. “I think it would be good for you. And the Headmaster has requested it. Most would refer to losing your parents at a young age from a fire, as a great trauma.”

Zayn groans quietly as he stares back at the ceiling. It doesn't make any sense, it never had, and he doesn't know if he can explain it enough to Dr. Davis to _make_ any sense of it.

“For now, I have some medicine to help you sleep until then. With everything going on, there has been quite a lot of traffic in Dr. Davis’ office. Take one, before you go to bed. You might feel drowsy in the morning -”

Zayn flicks his eyes over to Liam. He shifts in his chair, brows creasing together. The Healer’s voice fades away as a heat takes over his skin.

He clenches his eyes closed, his mind loud with a whirlwind of voices. He can't make sense of any of it, can't focus on one voice or one word. It is just muffled and loud, echoing through his brain as flames stitch themselves to the back of his eyelids.

When he opens them Liam is in front of him, a tired smile on his lips as he brushes his fingers over Zayn’s cheek.

“I want to go,” he mumbles, wishing his head would quiet for just a moment so he can comfort himself in Liam’s voice.

Liam nods, glancing behind him at the Healer. “Yeah, alright.”

Malay is waiting outside for them when they step out, and he jolts from his seat the moment he notices them.

He looks worried, his brows permanently stitched together and his skin graying. “Do you want to sleep at home tonight?”

“No,” Zayn mumbles, shifting into the arms Malay holds out to him. Guilt ripples through him because he is putting more on both Malay and Liam’s plate than they need. They are just nightmares created from thoughts in his head, nothing compared to the nightmares Liam is facing in conscious life. “I’m okay.”

Malay holds his cheek for a long moment, his eyes running over his face. “Why didn’t you tell me they were getting worse?”

“You have enough on your plate,” Zayn whispers quietly and Liam takes a step back as if to give them privacy, though his heat surges over his skin like he knows Zayn still wants his touch somehow.

The crease between Malay’s eyebrows deepen then. “You could never burden me, especially with something like this. We need to talk about them, but I rather you just sleep.”

Zayn nods, feeling his throat tightening at the soft of his guardian’s voice. “I think Healer Webber thinks I’m hallucinating.”

Malay’s lips tug down for a long moment before he speaks again. “Exhaustion can do that to you,” he says softly. “That is why you need proper sleep. Don’t forget to take your medicine.”

Malay looks at Liam then before pointing a stern finger at him. “Make sure he takes it, please, Liam. He used to always put up a fuss when I tried to give him medicine when he was little.”

+*

_The putrid smell of smoke fills his lungs, choking him. His heart pounds with fear but he can't move, frozen despite the fact it feels like the fire is on him._

_It is everywhere, blinding him. He hears a scream, a high pitched shriek but he can't find the source of it._

_He can't search for her, he can't move. But he wants to, to find the lady with the kind eyes. She had told him to hide, but the fire finds him no matter where he runs to._

_Legs lay on the floor, the body hidden behind a burning table. A scream rips out from his throat, his eyes falling closed with the force of it before he is being lifted._

_The pain makes him scream and scream as the person holding him runs. But the fire follows, covering the walls only a breath away from them. It doesn’t touch them, only holds onto the walls._

_He hiccups out a scream as he is drenched in darkness, a door closing somewhere behind him._

_“It’s okay,” a woman whispers. He clings to her though the voice is one he doesn’t recognize. It is comforting, the way her palm swipes over his cheek to quiet the sobs leaving his lips. There is a shout in the distance, a deep, threatening voice that makes him want to bury his face into the woman’s chest. That is a voice he recognizes, one that drags a fear through him that makes him clutch onto the woman harder, wishing he could disappear. It is more terrifying than the flames that lick over the window and light up the room._

_“It’s okay,” she says again, hand brushing over the side of his abdomen. He opens his lips to scream again, but no pain comes from her touch._

_“Hurts,” he whimpers._

_“Shh,” she coos, resting her palm on his cheek and holding him close to his chest. “You won’t remember any of this, sunshine.”_

He doesn’t know if it is the scream that wakes him or the loud bang in his dream coming from the door, but he wretches up, lips parted around the sound. He grips the blanket painfully, body tensing as the wrecked sound continues to pour from his mouth.

“Zayn!”

It is Ned, he knows, but he can’t focus on him trying to grab for his face as he grabs for his own shirt, wanting to pull the material off that feels like it is sticking into his skin. Like it is stuck _in_ his skin.

“Zayn, calm down! Wake up, Zayn!”

Words tumble out of his mouth, desperate pleas for Ned to let him go so he can take off his shirt. “M’burning, I’m -”

“You’re not burning.”

Ned’s hands are replaced with Liam’s bigger ones, firm on his cheeks as he makes him look at him. A sob passes his lips as he takes in Liam’s warm eyes, flickering with concern.

“Zayn,” he whispers, though his voice is firm. “You’re okay.”

Zayn nods. His heart beats rapidly in his chest, his whole body wracking with it and like Liam knows, he smoothes his fingers over his cheeks before curling his hand around his neck to drag him to his chest.

He muffles out sobs against Liam’s chest, too aware of all of his roommates standing in the door way watching them. Liam doesn’t let him go when he disappears, only shifts to let Zayn curl closer to him.

“I was on fire,” he whispers, voice so quiet he isn’t even sure that Liam can hear. “This woman rescued me.”

Liam’s fingers brush through his hair, the room around them silent. “Who was it?”

Zayn clings to him. The outline of her face is fading from his thoughts. The room had been too dark to be sure, but the memory of her voice warms through him more than Liam’s fingers warms his skin. It just doesn’t make sense.

“I don’t know.”

+*

Liam sits with Zayn until his breathing has calmed, until there is no longer an erratic heart beat vibrating around him. He thinks he falls asleep at one point, when his grip on his shirt releases. But he only slides his hand over Liam’s hip a moment later, still hidden from his eyesight.

The rest of their roommates had left, with lingering worried glances at Zayn. He knows that is why Zayn went invisible, to hide from all of them. But he hates when Zayn hides from him.

“Come on,” he says softly, heart wrenching when he tries to cup his cheek and feels the wet of his tears. “Let’s make you a cuppa.”

He hears a sniffle, and Zayn’s weight disappears from him for a moment before he appears back in front of him. For a moment, Liam wishes he would go invisible again because the fear and hurt on his face makes his chest ache worse than ever.

“It was the worst one,” he mutters. “I still feel the burning on my skin.”

He curls his arms around his stomach and Liam just watches him for a moment, unsure of what to say. Zayn doesn’t seem to mind, as he continues to talk.

“We were in the building again,” he goes on, voice watery. He jerks his shoulder towards the window, as if to indicate the burnt down building he always seeks comfort in. “The woman picked me up and started running but the flames just followed.”

Liam scooches closer so he can place his palm on his thigh, needing to touch the other man in hopes it comforts him the way he had comforted him earlier. He is frustrated, because the woman from the train station said the bracelet would make the dreams go away, not make them worse.

“I can’t believe you’ve actually felt something like this, Liam. It was awful. It hurts me to know that you felt this before.”

“I don’t,” Liam responds quietly, his voice soft. “I was little. Too young to remember.”

Zayn slides his hand over Liam’s to push his fingers between the spaces there. There is a look of relief on his face, and something strong in his eyes that Liam can’t name. “Good. But you dream of it?”

Liam stands up, tugging on his hand to help him up. His nightmares were long ago, and it never felt real. When he was awake, with his mother's fingers brushing against his cheeks, he knew it was a dream.

But the paleness in Zayn's face and the way he grips at his fingers make Liam think he still hasn't realized he is safe.

“I have,” is all Liam says as they walk out of the room. All of the lights are still off but every bedroom door is opened, and he knows the others are listening for them. “I got you, come on.”

Zayn tucks himself into Liam’s side as they walk towards the kitchen.

“You’re cold again,” Zayn murmurs as they walk into the kitchen. He presses against his chest, face tucking into his neck and Liam curls his arms around his shoulders, keeping him close. He doesn’t feel cold, until he realizes the warmth he feels is coming from Zayn and not him.

“Happens when I’m scared, I guess.”

“Sorry for scaring you,” Zayn mumbles. “You've had a lot to deal with I don't need to make it worse.”

Liam sighs, knocking his lips against Zayn’s forehead. He could laugh at that, if his chest didn’t ache. “Don’t apologize. Just want to know you’re okay. I need you and you need me, remember?”

A sniffle sounds as he nods his head. “I can’t get the screams out of my head.”

Liam tightens his grip around him. “It isn’t real,” he assures him. “Remember? You weren’t there. They aren’t memories.”

Zayn lets out a quiet sob, muffled against his chest before he pulls back. Even in the dark Liam can see the tears staining his cheeks, and the swell of his eyes. “But Liam, I think they are.”

Liam pads back over to him, cupping his cheeks. He shifts a soft kiss across the corner of his mouth. “They can’t be,” he whispers. “Come on, try to think of something else while I make you tea.”

Zayn rests quietly against the counter as Liam puts together his tea, the dim light of the kitchen allowing him to see the pale of his face. He can practically hear Zayn’s mind running, the terrified look never leaving his face.

“Liam,” Zayn sniffles out after a moment, fists coming up to rub at his eyes. “It was me mum. I was burning, and she made the pain go away.”

Liam pads over with the cup of tea, placing it down beside him. “See? It can’t be a memory. You weren’t there, you weren’t burned.”

Zayn drags his hand over the part of his abdomen he had been gripping at before he looks at Liam. There is a broken look in his eyes before he reaches out and drags his hand over the same spot on Liam’s abdomen, dragging over his scarred skin. “But you were.”

Liam stills, his mind blank no matter how hard he tries to process Zayn’s words. “Zayn, that doesn’t make any sense.”

Zayn huffs out a frustrated noise. “I know. I need to see Malay.”

He goes to move, but Liam grabs his wrist, heart pounding heavily in his chest. The woman from the train said his memories had been taken from him, but why would _Zayn_ have them?

Why does it have to do with his _parents_?

“Zayn, I -”

Zayn chokes out a sob, body trembling as he pulls away from Liam. “In class today, you were screaming Liam. It felt so real. You were so scared. Flames were coming off of you like - like.”

Liam’s arm falls limp to his side as he stares at his boyfriend. He feels freezing, like all of his heat has completely left his body as Zayn turns to face him.

It is the fear in his eyes that makes a curl of nausea hit his stomach. It hurts, but not as much as the way Zayn chokes out another sob. “I have to talk to Malay.”

+*

Zayn finds him in his study, following the glow of light after searching through the massive house. The guardians left him at the door, though they seemed hesitant to let him go inside by himself.

“What's wrong?”

Zayn paces around the room, his mind racing. It was his mother, he recognized her eyes. It had to be Liam, he was burned on his side. In the same exact spot, it just doesn't make any fucking sense.

“My dreams - my nightmares? I think they are memories. Liam's memories.”

Malay waves his hands in confusion before he is gesturing for Zayn to sit, but he doesn't.

“I'm in a burning building,” Zayn huffs out, his mind running faster than his lips can move. “And I'm little, everything around me is a lot bigger. Right? The dreams come at different times, I don't know what order they are supposed to be in but there is a lot of screaming and I'm in a lot of pain and it is always me mum who gets me out of it.”

Zayn indicates his side. “Last night, even when I woke I felt I was burning here. Me mum made the pain go away, she just - she hid me away and made it go away.”

Tears build up in his throat as he slumps into the chair finally, gripping at his shirt where he can still feel the tickle of the burn. “It is where Liam was burned. He made me wear this bracelet because he said the nightmares would go away but I think it just made them worse.”

Malay reaches over the desk, pushing some of the stones aside to grab Zayn’s hands. “Slow down, breathe. Why did he say it would make the nightmares go away?”

Zayn sniffles before he huffs out a dry sob. “He said he just knew.”

His thumb drags over the leather bracelet, a pensive look on his face. “I need you to take the bracelet off, Zayn. Did you take the medicine -”

“Yes,” Zayn grumbles as he pulls his arm back as if to retreat, but Malay’s pinches at the strings until Zayn rests his arm to let him untie it.

“Why?” He asks as Malay lays the bracelet in his palm and closes his fingers around it.

“It's for Liam,” he says after a moment of silence. “If he thinks it will take away your nightmares - the nightmares you think belong to him, than he should wear it.”

Zayn recoils then, a protectiveness running through him. “I don't want him to go through them either, though.”

Malay rubs his palm down his face, exhaling out before he speaks again. “I need you to trust me.”

“Why? What are you thinking?”

“Too much to burden you with,” Malay answers softly, his lips tugging down. “And I may be old but I don't know everything. I only have hunches. And Liam wearing this bracelet is one.”

Zayn’s hands shake visibly as he tucks the bracelet into his pocket. The smell of fire burning is gone, but his skin still stings where the pain had been. “If, if it is his memories -”

He stares up at Malay, whose lips are pressed tight and the grim look on his face only makes him feel worse.

“That means he was there when my parents died.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter includes memories of child abuse, that I think could be hard to read for some. Also, more mentions of death (and more description of it) than there has been in previous chapters. I don't think it is graphic, per se, but it was hard to write because of it. If you don't want to read the chapter, or want to ask me more specific questions before you read, please don't hesitate to send me a message via tumblr. 
> 
> Also, I know this chapter is quite overdue and I am sincerely sorry about that. There has been a lot going in my life that I have had trouble dealing with it, and it has taken me away from my writing.

Liam paces around his quiet dorm room. The only sound is the fast of his heart and the heavy sound of his footsteps. His roommates keep poking their heads out to check on him, especially Ned, whose face holds an uncharacteristic grim look to it.

Zayn had walked away, retreated from him with a fear in his eyes. The emotion radiating off of him like a toxic leak and Liam can’t help but feel as if that fear was directed towards him.

Liam steps outside after awhile of being unable to calm the sweltering heat taking over the room. He doesn’t even care about the beads of sweat rolling down his skin as he falls to the ground outside of the door, pressing the heel of his hands against his eyes to rid the look of Zayn’s fearful face out of his mind.

“Liam.”

Liam flinches though he could feel her approach, eyes narrowing into a glare before he can look at the woman whose voice he is becoming to recognize. There is a hesitant look before she sits beside him, her hand stilling where she goes to reach for him.

“You said the bracelet would take his nightmares away, not make them worse.”

There is a patient look on her face but there is no denying the pain that coats her kind eyes. “It did take his nightmares away. I have been working a long time to find a way to do it, and I will be honest, I did not know the full effect it would have on him.”

Liam groans, pressing his forehead to his propped up knees. “If you want to help can you just tell me what is going on?”

The woman sighs, shifting her hand over Liam’s cheek to drag him back up. Her thumb wipes over the tear he didn’t know he had let out. “I can. A bit.”

“A bit?” Liam repeats hoarsely. He wants to go to Malay, but he is afraid of upsetting Zayn.

And that thought makes him sick.

“I took them,” she says slowly, not letting go of where she touches his cheek gently. He nudges his face into it, the trust in his chest consuming though he doesn’t understand why. “Your memories. And I put them into the stones. And into Zayn.”

“Why?” Liam gasps, not trying to hide the wretch in his voice.

Her face breaks some, the sadness growing in her eyes. “You’ve gone through things no child should have to go through, Liam. And it was safer for you not to remember.”

“But you gave them to Zayn?”

She shakes her head, her lips tugging down into a frown. “I think he took them from the stones. I used to check in on him after his parents died, and they were hidden in James’ office. He used to sit Zayn in there with him while he worked. I noticed they had been moved to a higher shelf, and a few nights later I found Zayn in his room, screaming over a nightmare.”

Liam stills, lips parting open as he retreats from her hand. She doesn’t try to go after him, knowing in her eyes. He shakes his head at the thought, refusing to believe it because it doesn’t make any sense.

“Who are you?”

The woman stands then, leaving Liam sitting on the ground. “I think you already know the answer to that Liam.”

+*

Liam startles when Zayn walks into the room. His eyes search the dark, but he can’t find him. He can hear the sound of his footsteps, and he stills when the bed dips with his weight.

“I’m sorry,” Zayn mumbles into the air. “I’m just freaked out and I don’t know, I always go to Malay when I’m scared.”

“It’s okay,” Liam mumbles, shifting his arms under his head because he can’t see Zayn to reach out and touch him. “You can come to me when you’re scared, unless -”

He feels the cold of Zayn’s fingers sliding over his chest. He wears a thick sweater, but it still doesn’t warm his unusually cold skin. “Malay wants you to wear the bracelet.”

Liam nods, huffing out. “I have to tell you something, but I need to see you first.”

There is a long moment of silence before Zayn slowly reveals himself. His eyes are lit again, for only a flash of a moment before they return to his normal brown. He inches close, and Liam takes it as a good side when his chest presses into his own.

“What?” Zayn asks quietly, tracing his thumb over Liam’s brow. Liam curls an arm around his shoulders, relief flooding through him.

“The woman from the train, she told me she took my memories from me,” Liam starts softly, flinching at the guilt in his words because he hadn’t told Zayn. “And she said they were in the bracelet. That you, that you have some of them.”

Zayn’s face crunches together in the same way he is sure his own had. “Why?’

Liam swallows down the tightness in his throat. “She said I experienced stuff no kid should have to,” he whispers, his voice breaking. “I’m kind of scared to see them.”

Zayn reaches for his hand, flexing his fingers until they are sliding between his own. “I’ll be right here.”

Liam sniffles, shaking his head and he rather bury his face into the pillow and go to sleep rather than speak what is on his mind. “Zayn? If these are my memories, that means -”

Zayn nods, brows pinching together but he attempts to lift his lips into a smile. “I know. Take one of the pills the Healer gave me, to help you sleep.”

Liam nods, his heart thumping anxiously in his chest. Zayn rubs a thumb over his cheek, his smile softening. “I'll be right here.”

+*

At first, Liam doesn’t think the sleep medicine is helping any as he lays there wide awake with his fingers tracing over Zayn’s cool skin. He tries to focus on the sound of Zayn’s breathing and the thump of his heart beat instead of the scared thoughts gripping at his brain.

He is aware of Zayn speaking to him, but his soft voice seems miles away. He tries to focus his ears, but Zayn’s voice changes into something harsher. Louder.

Screaming. A panicked voice he could recognize anywhere.

“ _Geoff, let me go!_ ”

Flashes of images hit his eyelids. He can feel how the room is thick with heat, can see how his mother is struggling. The hallway walls of their living room blurring by as he runs to his room. The screaming fades before it grows loud again.

The kitchen. The stove lit up with fire. More screaming, loud over the whimpers rattling out from his chest. His mother’s eyes flash over the flames, the tears in them matching the ones falling down his cheeks.

The distant feel of Zayn is gone as he falls deep into the heat swarming around him from his dreams.

 

_It is really hot in Auntie’s kitchen, with the heat blowing in from the open front door. Liam stands in the hallway a few yards away, his tiny fingers gripping tightly around the entranceway frame as he pokes his head around it._

_They are whispering, and he doesn't know what they are saying but Auntie’s voice makes him sad. He wants to hug her legs and hide behind her but she had told him in her serious voice to stay out of the kitchen._

_Liam startles when Aunt Rose gasps loudly. She clutches at the front door, half hiding behind it and Liam gasps too when he sees his papa in the door way. Fire licks over his fingers and Liam tucks his face against the wall._

_“How are you doing this? Why can't I get inside?”_

_“I don't know,” Auntie Rose says in her serious voice. “And I don't care, you're not welcome.”_

_Papa just laughs, and no one ever laughs when Auntie Rose her serious face. “I'll just have to burn the place down to get my son. You can’t keep him from me, he is my boy.”_

_-_

_The house smells like cinnamon, the fire crackling a few feet away keeping his toes warm. Her perfume fills his nose and it is comforting, just like the soft smile on her face as she reads the words that he can’t make sense of on the page._

_“He saves people?”_

_Liam looks down at the book in his lap, at the man with the red cape floating from the back of his shoulders._

_The book closes, and his heart drops though the smile remains on her lips. “Are you almost ready for school, little lamb?”_

_Liam tucks his arms over his chest, pouting. “But Auntie Rosie, you said we could finish the story first?”_

_His aunt sighs, folding a palm over his cheek. “You are going to miss your bus, if you don’t hurry up.”_

_Liam huffs out, jumping off the couch they sit on. His Batman backpack waits for him, and he grabs it grumpily. “I don’t want to go today.”_

_“Why is that honey?”_

_Her hand presses against the back of his head as she leads him to the front door. Something he doesn’t understand grips at his chest, and it makes his heart hurt. “Will you be here when I come home?”_

_Aunt Rose falls to her knees, a smile on her lips as her brows push together. “Of course, lamb. Why wouldn’t I be?”_

_Liam frowns, looking over his shoulder as the bus pulls up in front of her house. The sky is dark, and thunder rumbles through the thick coating of clouds. “I dunno. Promise me?”_

_Her lips tug down as she wipes her palm over the top of his head. “I promise. Now go on. It’s okay.”_

_Liam goes, throwing looks over his shoulders constantly, even as he climbs onto the bus and tucks himself into his seat by the window. He presses his fingers over the window as she waves, a sob on his lips as he eyes the shadow of a flickering flame behind her curtains._

_-_

_“Liam, please sit down.”_

_Liam pulls his eyes from the falling rain outside of the classroom window. His teacher’s lips are pulled into a frown, eyes narrowed at him. He sighs, glancing back at the rain._

_“I want to go home.”_

_“The day isn’t over yet,” his teacher says in her stern voice. “Mummy will pick you up when she gets out of work.”_

_Liam doesn’t move, only presses his fingers into the hot glass of the window. “Can I call Auntie Rose?”_

_The teacher bends forward, disapproval on her face. “Alright, go on. But make it quick.”_

_Liam scrambles away from her, taking the teacher helper’s hand. There is a kind smile on her face as she guides him out of the room, and towards the office._

_The uncomfortable feeling in his chest worsens as the phone rings. He feels really hot, and he shifts on his feet wishing it would go away. It makes tears build up in his eyes. Every time he gets hot like this it makes his side hurt really bad._

_“She’s not picking up,” Liam sniffles out, rubbing at his eyes._

_“Are you okay?” the helper asks as she folds a hand over his forehead. “You’re really hot. Maybe we should take you to the nurse’s, yeah?”_

_The helper goes to reach for his hand but she stills as the alarm goes off. Loud and piercing, Liam grabs for his ears, bending forward on himself._

_“Stop, stop stop.”_

_A hand takes his, but the alarm is so loud he can’t hear anything but that pounding against his ear drums. The heat worsens, and he chokes out a sob, tugging away from the grip._

_He doesn’t know the woman that reaches for him and he retreats back, stumbling over his feet but she grabs him before he can fall._

_“Liam,” she says loudly. Air blows around her, and she smells like the rain that hasn’t gone away in years and years. “You have to come with me.”_

_“I want my Auntie Rose,” he sobs out, tucking the arm she reaches for close to his chest._

_The woman’s eyes narrow as she grabs for him roughly. “Your Auntie Rose isn’t here, Liam. Come with me, your Papa wants you.”_

_Liam struggles against her grip, yelling but the alarm is too loud for him to be heard. She is strong, stronger than anyone he swears by it. His feet drag across the floor, his toes trying to press into the tiles to help him stand but he fails._

_A scream rips from his throat as he eyes the flames, licking at his classroom door. The hurt around his heart worsens as the woman lets him go._

_He runs, just like his Mummy always told him to. ‘As fast as you can, little one’. People rush around him, but he runs through them, a replay of hide hide in his head._

_Liam presses a hand hard against his mouth as he hides behind the big comfy chairs in the waiting room. The alarm doesn’t stop, but he can hear screams underneath it. His chest heaves as he sobs, his fingers gripping into the hard fabric of the back of the chair._

_“Liam! Where are you, boy?”_

_The voice, it makes him feel cold underneath the burning feeling sliding over his skin. He shivers, his back pressing against the wall to slide lower to the ground._

_Warm eyes fill his vision as a woman bends in front of him. She holds out her hand, lips moving but Liam can’t hear her. He reaches out though, tentatively sliding his fingers over her palm._

_The cold across his skin turns colder as he takes her hand. He steps out before rushing into her, burying his face against her chest until he feels himself being lifted._

_“You are safe,” he hears in his ear. “He can’t see you.”_

_Liam peeks over his shoulder hesitantly. He gasps, gripping tightly onto the jacket that she wears as she watches him walk through the hallway. Fire breathes over his palms, slides over the walls and dances over his head as he screams._

_“Liam! Come out here!”_

_+*_

Tears slip down Zayn’s cheeks as he slides his fingers over Liam’s cold skin. He can see the other lad’s eyes working quickly against the back of his eyelids, his breath coming out sharp. He feels the fear radiating off of him, though it isn’t mixing in with his heat. He curls his fingers over the bracelet, trying to force the calming stones into his skin.

“S’okay,” he breathes, brushing a kiss over Liam’s cheeks. He is hungry, and exhausted, but he refuses to leave Liam’s side as he sleeps. His roommates have left for class, and he knows Malay is wandering around the kitchen or living room, but thankfully he hasn’t asked Zayn any questions.

Liam has been asleep for hours, and Zayn slept a little too, until he woke up to the fast pace of Liam’s heartbeat. No nightmares came to him while he slept, but his heart hurts because he knows they are with Liam.

Zayn traces his fingers over Liam’s forehead before he stills, feeling something powerful take over his chest. He closes his eyes, pressing his fingers against Liam’s temple.

He gasps as the images flood his mind, a face he doesn’t recognize but the eyes are kind. They fade into similar ones though different, and tears line these ones.

_“Liam, honey, I’m sorry but your Auntie Rose passed away.”_

Zayn rips his fingers away, gasping out as stares at Liam. His eyes move rapidly under his eyelids, his skin radiating heat but nothing dangerous.

“You can see them.”

Zayn whips his head around to where Malay stands with his shoulder pressed to the frame of the entranceway. His arms are crossed over his chest, lips tugged down into a deep frown.

“I don’t know,” Zayn breaths, glancing back at Liam. “His Aunt Rose died.”

Malay steps into the room before placing himself onto Niall’s bed, his hands rubbing up his thighs to rest at his knees. “Her house burnt down the same day as the day care did.”

His throat feels thick as he curls closer to Liam, his eyes pressing closed before he shoves his face into Liam’s chest. “Why would they take that from him?”

“I don’t know son,” Malay mumbles, the stress and confusion clear in his voice.

+*

_“Liam, eat your food please. I’m not playing games with you tonight.”_

_Liam glances at the plate in front of him. His tummy hurts, and there is a bad feeling in his chest that makes it hurt too. “I don’t feel good, Papa.”_

_His father narrows his eyes, hands planting hard on his hips and Liam crouches forward, tucking his fingers between his legs. “Eat.”_

_Liam huffs out a quiet sob, shaking his head before he climbs off of the chair. He pads quickly away, running from the heavy sound of his father’s boots._

_“Fuck,” the man grumbles, grabbing him._

_Pain explodes over his side as he screams, feet kicking out to push him away. It throbs against his skin as he grabs at his shirt, trying to pull it off as wiggles across the floor._

_“Shit,” his father says loudly. He grabs Liam’s face, his hands hot but not as burning. “I’m sorry, Liam.”_

_“Get away!” Liam screams, eyes blurring with tears. His hands burn hotter, but his father yanks them back quickly. “Get away!”_

_-_

_Liam trembles, fingers scratching at his skin as his father yanks him along. He is mad, Liam knows. He doesn’t know what he did to make him so mad, or why he hurt him so bad._

_It makes his nose wrinkle, the smell of it. It hurts so bad, he knows he needs to stop crying but he can’t stop the tears. “We’re going to Mummy?”_

_“No,” his father snaps. “Someone who can make you stop hurting.”_

_Liam hurries his feet to keep up with the fast pace of his father’s steps, sniffling. The building they approach is massive, reaching so high into the sky it touches the clouds. “A ‘ospital?”_

_“Close enough,” his father grumbles as he pushes open the door. “Do you remember Ms. Tricia?”_

_Liam huffs out, shaking his head as he tries to pull his hand away from the tight squeeze of his father’s._

_“She can help you,” he says before he screams out her name._

_The woman that appears from one of the doors in the hallway has a kind face, but there is something in her eyes that makes Liam want to pull his Papa out of the hallway and away from her and the man that pokes his head out from behind her._

_“What do you want Geoff?”_

_“Help,” he responds, cupping the back of Liam’s head to push him forward so his feet stumble over the floor. “I can’t take him to the hospital, they will take him away from me.”_

_The woman’s brows furrow together as she rushes over. Her eyes are even kinder when she kneels in front of him. “It is okay sunshine, show me where it hurts.”_

_Liam sniffles, raising his arm to show her that the pain is around his stomach. Her eyes drop down and he tenses as he watches her fingers reach for his stomach._

_“It won’t hurt,” the woman whispers, giving him another kind smile. It doesn’t, and it feels as if snow is coating over his skin, making him shiver._

_“I want the stone too,” his father says, his voice too loud over the lady’s nice soft voice. “To prevent it from happening again.”_

_The man who had stepped out with the lady gives his Papa a mean look, arms crossing over his chest the way his Mummy does when he does something wrong. “We know you don’t want it for the boy, Geoff. You have never been concerned about anyone other than yourself. But we don’t have it.”_

_“Oh that’s bullshit, Malik,” Papa grumbles._

_The woman cups Liam’s cheek, whispering softly to him. “Does it feel better?”_

_Liam shakes his head, sniffling. There is no more tears but he feels like he breathed them and holds them in his chest. “A little bit.”_

_“Good,” she breathes, eyes glancing up as his father’s voice booms loudly through the room. Liam bites hard on his bottom lip as he feels how hot his Papa gets, which makes him want to run far like his Mummy always tells him to do._

_“Listen to me,” the woman whispers quietly as she wraps an arm around his shoulders to pull him into a hug. “I want you to go into that room over there, and hide behind one of the tables okay?”_

_Liam nods as the woman pats his cheek._

_“I will come and get you,” she says, smiling softly. “And bring you to Mummy, okay?”_

_Liam nods again as the woman stands up, hand pressing against his head to guide him behind her. “Geoff, I need you to leave. I reckon all of us here know that it would be best for the little one if he was taken from you.”_

_Liam runs, feet padding quickly over the ground. The mean faced man steps aside, and up close Liam sees the mean face was only for his Papa. The big man’s face lights up before he places a hand to the back of Liam’s head. “It's okay, go on.”_

_He presses his hands hard against his ears as the yelling echoes off of the walls, whispering under his breath the way Mummy taught him. “Mary had a little lamb, little lamb.”_

_“What if I hurt him again, Trisha? I need to protect him and I know you have the fucking stone.”_

_“Geoff, we never succeeded in making it. It was a failure. You can protect that boy by leaving him alone. Going far away, for good.”_

_Liam gasps quietly as the flicker of flames glow through the rooms. He hates them the most, they are creepy the way they slide over the ground towards him, mean and angry. He presses closer to the table, scared and shaking._

_“Calm down, Geoff, or you are going to hurt him again right now.”_

_His heart pounds so hard against his ears he can’t hear the words. His chest hurts, and tears line his eyes as he peeks from behind the counter._

_Liam whimpers out, watching the flames flickering across the walls. His Papa is just a shadow behind him, a dark shadow that he dreams of too often. Thick, black smoke rises off of him and towards the ceiling, and he covers his mouth. He hates the taste of it and the way it always hurts his throat so bad._

_“Get him out of here, Trisha,” the big man says, hand pressing against the woman’s chest. “Get the little one and go.”_

_“Yaser!” The woman says, her voice scared. The tears in his eyes make it hard to see the fire that shoots from the palm of his Papa’s hand, only a blurred orange streak. The yells make his heart hurt, and so does the feet he sees poking out from behind the counter beside the woman a moment later._

_“Liam!” His Papa yells, as fire leaks over his feet. Liam pads off, desperate to get to the kind eyed lady before his Papa does that to her too._

_The man with the not so mean face lays on the ground, chest rising and falling quickly. The nice lady leans over him, hands on his cheeks as Liam tip toes over._

_Her eyes rip up to look at him, there are tears in them that Liam doesn’t like._

_“Go Trisha, I’ll hold him off,” the man whispers._

_The woman stares at him, flinching when his Papa’s voice booms through the room again calling for him. “I need to heal you, Yaser. I need to - I need to.”_

_Liam tucks himself hard against the counter as he hears the heavy footsteps of his Papa. The fire inches closer to him, the smoke starting to hit his nose and make his eyes burn._

_“Go jaan, I love you. I'll be fine,” the man murmurs._

_A scream rips from his chest as a pain takes over his side, his father’s fingers digging in harshly to the skin he hurt earlier. He struggles away from the grip, hands reaching out towards the woman. There is a shriek, but his eyes clench closed and he can’t get to the kind woman._

_“Okay! I have it, I have it!”_

_Liam’s knees hit the ground hard as his Papa lets him go. He screams still, though he knows his Papa hates it. He can’t help it with the pain ripping through him._

_“Where is it?”_

_“Let me bring Liam to another room, to keep him safe. And then I will give it to you.”_

_“Where is it?”_

_Liam is lifted, his screams muffling against the woman’s chest. She moves quickly, throwing a loud ‘around my neck’ over her shoulder._

_His Papa yells a loud bad word at them, the sound of his boots heavy across the floor as he takes off after them._

_The fire follows, covering the walls only a breath away from them. It doesn’t touch them, only holds onto the walls and leaks out smoke. The ceiling falls above them, little pieces dropping against the tile floor._

_He hiccups out a scream as he is drenched in darkness, a door closing somewhere behind him._

_“It’s okay,” a woman whispers. He clings to her. It is comforting, the way her palm swipes over his cheek to quiet the sobs leaving his lips. Flames lick over the window on the door, and he watches as his father walks by._

_“It’s okay,” she says again, hand brushing over the side of his abdomen. He opens his lips to scream again, but no pain comes from her touch like before._

_“Hurts,” he whimpers._

_“Shh,” she coos, resting her palm on his cheek and holding him close to his chest. “You won’t remember any of this, sunshine. I’m going to make all the pain go away.”_

_“Papa too,” Liam cries softly, as the woman wraps her arms around his shoulders. “He is gonna come back.”_

_“Papa too,” the woman says quietly. “Come on, let me get you out of here before he does.”_

_Liam curls his arms around her shoulder. The pain is gone but it is tight feeling, and the pain is still in his chest. It worsens when the door flies open, the slam of the door against the wall loud and hurting his ears._

_“Go away!” Liam screams as Papa lifts his hand. The woman screams as fire covers them, it is bright in his eyes and around them. She stops screaming though, her breath ragged in his ear like she has been running a lot. They are completely surrounded by flames, but she reaches out to touch them._

_“Oh my god,” she breathes before she is running again. Liam clings onto her. He likes these flames that surround them. Though they are usually little, when he lets them dance in his palm at night. They tickle, they don’t hurt._

_The fire goes away when they step outside. The air is cold, and it is really dark outside but the lady keeps running. Liam stares as the watches the flames take over the tall building, no longer as tall as it had once been._

_+*_

Liam stares up at the ceiling, the ghost of the flames from his dreams in his eyes. His room is empty, but he can tell Zayn had been beside him just a few moments ago.

It builds in his chest, making his throat tight before Liam finally chokes it out as he rips the bracelet off. It comes out harsh, his body wracking with it as the tears slip over the side of his face. It is the worst pain he has ever felt gripping at his chest, and he now remembers the pain that had came with the scarred skin. That feels like nothing compared to the panic in his chest, to the pain that comes from the constant _your father killed Yaser Malik_ replaying over in his head.

“No, no,” Liam huffs out, pressing the heels of his hands to his eyes, his body aching with the force of his sobs.

Soft fingers brush over his wrists before his hands are being pulled away. There are tears in the warm brown eyes staring back at him, his thick brows pushing together.

“It’s okay, babe, I’m here,” Zayn murmurs, pushing over him to slide his arm under his head. Liam tucks his sobs against his throat. There is comfort surging from his fingertips but it isn’t enough to calm the ache rushing through him. “Liam, it is okay.”

“It isn’t,” Liam sobs out, curling his arm over Zayn’s back to keep him close. “I need to talk to Malay.”

“Talk to me,” Zayn pleads quietly. “You can tell me.”

Liam shakes his head, fingers digging into Zayn’s back as disgust twists through his stomach. It is the last thing he wants to do, to tell Zayn -

Liam gasps, pushing up and Zayn scrambles to the side. He catches Liam’s cheeks with gentle fingers, preventing him from moving off the bed like he had intended.

The eyes, the same warm brown eyes. Holding just as much kindness, if not more. Liam doesn’t know how he hadn’t recognized them, when he spends a lot of his time thinking about the same ones. He doesn’t know why it had to take his dreams to figure out who the woman from the train station is.

“I have to talk to Malay,” Liam shutters out as Zayn brushes a thumb gently over his skin like he is trying to cool the heat off of him. “It’s important.”

Zayn nods, teeth nipping at his bottom lip as he wipes the tear slipping down his cheek with the back of his hand. “He’s in the kitchen, waiting for you to wake up.”

“Why?” Liam asks, slipping away from Zayn. The other lad’s hands fall into his lap as he watches Liam walk off.

“To look after you.”

+*

“Liam, I think you’re in shock.”

Liam shakes his head. He is restless, pacing around Malay’s office after insisting he wanted to talk somewhere where Zayn couldn’t hear. His fingers shift over his stomach constantly, like his touch can ease the nausea building in his belly.

It plays over and over again in his head, even though he has taken the bracelet off. He can’t get it out of his head, the screams of Zayn’s mother deafening.

“I’m not,” Liam says, not looking at the Headmaster. He can feel his eyes following his every movement though. “Why don’t you seem surprised?”

Malay huffs out, holding his hands open. “Surprised that you think Patricia Malik is alive? No, I’m not surprised because I don’t think that is true. Or do you mean about your father? It has always been the truth I knew.”

Liam stops then, glaring at the old man. “What? And you didn’t tell anyone?”

Malay cups his hands together. “I tried, Liam. Trust me, no one believed me. There was no evidence other than you were burned that night, but you were at an infirmary hours from campus. I practically threw a party when your father was finally arrested - no offense.”

Liam waves it off, settling his back against the wall across from Malay. He tucks his anxious fingers into his pockets but it does little to ease them. “Zayn’s mum brought me there.”

Malay looks patient but the noise he lets out is anything but.

“What can I do to prove it to you?” Liam huffs out, his hand waving through the air. The flames on his palm stay there, but they pour through his limbs like they could leak out of his pores at any moment. “She got me out of the school when my father burned it down. He brought me to her when he burned me, begged her to heal me. She said she took away my memories to protect me, so I wouldn’t remember her leaving her husband to die to save me when she could have healed him? So I wouldn’t see the fire in my Aunt’s house? So I wouldn’t remember what it felt like to be abused by my father -”

“Liam,” Malay says, holding up a hand to quiet him. Liam can practically see his thoughts running in his eyes, though his lips stay pressed shut for a long time. “I believe you.”

The Headmaster makes a strangled noise as he presses his palm to his eyes, fingers digging in and the strain of his face makes veins pop out over his temples. Liam stills, watching Malay’s shoulders hunch together. “It makes no sense, but I believe you.”

“It does -”

“No,” Malay says firmly, pulling his hand away so Liam can see the tears in his eyes. “I could feel her from yards away. The power inside of her, I could always feel it. It was strong, yet she is around me and I don’t feel it? That doesn’t make sense, Liam. Her being alive for nearly seventeen years without me, or Zayn knowing, doesn’t make any sense. She wouldn’t -”

Malay presses his eyes shut again, pinching at his temple until his breathing no longer hitches. “She wouldn't have left Yaser.”

Liam's heart throws in his chest as he flicks his eyes up towards the ceiling to prevent the tears from slipping down in his cheeks.

“He,” Liam starts, his voice wobbly. “He asked her to.”

Malay stays quiet for a long moment, the silence between them deafening. “Why did Tricia give you these memories, Liam? Why now, would she want to reveal herself?”

Liam sniffles, tucking his fingers over his sweatpants anxiously. “She thinks my memories can help in figuring out who is helping my father attack the school.”

Malay looks at him then, brows lifted as he rubs at the tear slipping down his cheek. “Did it?”

Liam nod, sinking further into the chair as the woman’s face enters his mind. “Yeah, and I kind of know who it is.”

+*

Liam pushes open the bedroom door, taking in Zayn lying flat on the bed with his eyes closed. His breathing is shallow, and his finger jerks and fidgets over where he has it rested on his chest.

He slides his eyes over the woman standing next to Ned’s bed, a smile on her lips. It is a soft one, but so filled with emotions Liam feels as if he can feel them too as his heart expands in his chest.

“Why didn’t you tell me who you were?” Liam says, hoping his words don’t sound as harsh to her as they do to himself.

“It isn’t quite that easy,” the woman responds quietly before nudging her head in Zayn’s direction.

“He can’t see me,” she whispers, crossing her arms over her chest. “I used to sit in his room when he was a little one, and just watch him sleep. He is beautiful, and seeing him peaceful brings me peace.”

Trisha swallows thickly, her eyes glossy when she finally looks at Liam. “I don’t know whether or not to tell you to tell him or not. I don’t want it to take his peace away. Anger would be reasonable.”

“He’s not an angry person,” Liam says softly. “Especially if you have a reason.”

“I do, though I don’t know if it is a good one,” she says, looking back at Zayn. “Your father wanted a stone that I created. It could protect the one who wore it from other people’s powers being used against you. I made it with the intention of giving it to my only son, and I did. As much as I wanted to protect you too, Liam, it was something I wasn’t willing to take away from him.”

Liam frowns, itching at his neck. “That doesn’t explain anything.”

Her lips lift up at that. “I told him I had it. That it was on me. I figured if he thought it burned in that fire with me, he wouldn’t somehow put together the connection that it was Zayn who had it.”

She shifts on her feet a few times, glancing back at him. “And that isn’t the only reason. With the pain I felt losing my husband, and the energy it took me to get you to the hospital, to take your memories and try to heal you, I was very weak. I thought I was going to die. Losing Yaser drained the power from me, and I had your memory of his last words on constant repeat in my head. I sat in an abandoned building a few streets away from the hospital for days, draining.”

Liam wipes at the tears building in his eyes as he looks as Zayn. He knows losing Zayn would feel the same way, and his chest aches at the thought.

Trisha wipes at her eyes too before curling her arms around herself. “By the time I was strong enough to move, it was everywhere. The news that my husband and I had died in an accidental fire. It was probably a wrong decision on my part, but I let it stay that way. You were safe, your mother had fabricated some story about what had happened to you, told your father that Professor Green was the one who found you running through campus.”

“So she knew?”

The look on Tricia’s face is heartbreaking. “She did. She has always protected that man, but she was protecting you too.”

Liam stares at her for a long moment. “How?”

Tricia squeezes herself tightly, looking away from him. “I came to check on you, and they were fighting. You were hidden in your room, and I sat with you, listening to your father threatening harm on you if your mother were to speak out on it. I was afraid if I spoke out on it, it would do the same.”

“You should show yourself,” Liam says, voice quiet and hesitant as he tries to push away from the words Tricia just spoke. “I can’t keep it from him, and it shouldn’t be kept from him.”

“What else did you see?” Tricia coughs out. “Someone helping your father?”

Liam nods, resting his shoulders against the wall. “Yeah, and I know who it is.”

“Who?”

Liam tips his chin towards Zayn. “I think this is more important right now. I already told Malay who she is.”

She moves slowly, hesitancy radiating off of her before she drags a finger over Zayn’s cheek. Her voice is thick with tears, but the happiness it in is so clear that it tugs at Liam’s chest and drags the building tears over his eyelids.

“Sunshine,” she whispers. “Wake up, beta.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this chapter made sense because of the flashes of memories lol. I haven't written this way before, so if it was difficult or confusing in anyway please let me know. Thank you for reading !


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: mentions of child abuse.

If it weren’t for the heat pouring out through the gentle fingers Liam brushes over his ice cold skin, and the whispered assurance that he was in fact awake, Zayn would think he is dreaming again.

His mind races trying to make sense of everything as he stares at her. He can't stop staring really, and there is a whirlwind of emotions running through him that makes him feel as if he could shatter because of it.

It just - he has dreamed of her kind face. The smile that currently takes over her lips and the deep crinkles around her eyes. He has dreamed of what her touch feels like, and clung to her old clothes craving the scent of his mum, even after the smell of her perfume had faded into something more attic-y. Cried into his pillow wishing for two minutes with her, and now he can’t think of what to say.

She has always been a dream to him, and he can’t understand how he isn’t dreaming right now.

“You're the woman from the train station?”

The soft of her expression hasn't left her face since he had woken up to it, the tears over her eyelids never slipping down her cheeks but holding tight to her eyes. He flinches slightly at his question, wishing he could spit out something more meaningful like _do you know how much I’ve missed you?_

“I am.”

Liam’s fingertips glide over his forearm, tracing over the patters of ink scattered across his skin. Zayn slides his fingers between Liam’s, sucking in the breath stuck in his throat. “What do you want with him?”

“Nothing,” she says quietly, folding her hand over the one he fidgets over his pants. “I promised to always protect him, and you.”

“Me?” Zayn breathes. Liam tenses beside him, his fingers squeezing his own tightly.

“Honey, I would protect you from a bumble bee. But Geoff Payne is no bumble bee. And he has always wanted great power. You have it and,” her eyes dart over to Liam. “Beside him it is even stronger.”

“Why did you leave me?”

Liam's fingers shift over his knuckles as his mother reaches up to wipe away the tear sliding down Zayn’s cheek. As much as his mind is racing with questions, it is the one answer he is the most afraid to hear.

“I never did. I was always close to you.”

Zayn frowns, shaking his head at her. A spark of anger ignites itself in the mix of emotions swirling through him. “I thought you were dead. You let me think you were dead.”

The tear finally slips over her eyelid, her lips shaking a bit where they are pressed tightly together as she cocks her head to the side. The press of her hand against his cheek is a comfort that he knows. One he can barely remember, but has missed.

“I know, sunshine and I am sorry. Losing your father.”

Trisha presses her lips tightly together again for a long moment before continuing. This time her voice sounding watery and broken.

“Losing your father made me feel like everything inside of me was broken. I felt dead for a long time. When I went to check up on you, you wore this smile that was so beautiful as you ran about Malay’s yard and I just - thought I would ruin it.”

Zayn huffs out a watery laugh, pressing his hand over his mother's. “That's not true. You wouldn't have.”

“I know,” she whispers, pulling Zayn close to press her lips to his forehead. “But when you get like that, when you feel as dead as I did inside, your mind works differently.”

Zayn slips his fingers away from Liam to bury his face into his mother’s neck. He soaks in her scent, and the softness of her skin. The gentle way she tightens her arm over his back, and the pace of her heart beat. He tries to memorize about her presence everything in a second, choking out a sob because this is everything he has needed.

“Shh, beta,” Trisha coos quietly. “Everything is okay.”

She cups his wet cheeks when he pulls up to look at her, the face he has dreamed about for years. “At least for an hour.”

There is a brightness in her eyes as she laughs quietly. “For an hour, that I want to spend answering any question you have, listening to anything you have to say. Even if it is angry, I want to hear it.”

Zayn nods, sniffling. “I want you to tell me about you and Baba.”

+*

“Why did you take Liam’s memories away from him?”

His mother smiles softly, squeezing her fingers around his hand that she holds. They shake slightly, and Zayn isn’t sure if it is from the cold air around them or something else. “I thought you wanted to talk about your father.”

“I do,” Zayn replies hesitantly. “My mind is just like, running with questions.”

Trisha looks away for a moment, nodding to herself. There is a distant look in her eyes before the corners of her lips tug down, deepening the wrinkles around her mouth. “Liam has gone through a lot. Abuse that he never needs to know about.”

“But you thought it was time for him to know?”

“To know bits of it,” she responds quietly, looking back at him. She rubs the back of his hand distractedly. “There are some memories I will never return to him. Stones I’ve buried deep into the ground.”

“Of what?” Zayn asks, though he knows the answer. It is clear in the pain that flickers in his mother’s eyes, the same pain that holds onto his heart with angry fingers.

“Ones that serve no purpose other than harm. He was hurt in other ways, leaving marks that only faded physically. When he was little, maybe three, Karen stayed with us to get away from Geoff. For only a few weeks. He told you to hide once, when your father and I got into an argument. I didn’t know why Karen had left Geoff, I thought it was just because he was an awful person and she realized that. But I touched his forehead and heard his mother’s screams, but Karen ran the moment I brought it up to her.”

Zayn bites hard on his bottom lip as he tries not to think about Liam being hurt, because it will distract him from anything he wants to say to his mother. “Back to Geoff?”

Tricia nods grimly. “I often visited in the night, taking memories away from Liam. I was working with your father to get Liam out of the house, but the investigation took too long and well.”

Her lips press tightly together for a long moment, a tear finally slipping over her eyelids. “Your father was an amazing man. He loved you so much. I used to find him in the lab with you tucked in his lap, teaching you about everything under the sun though you barely could even speak yet.”

Zayn smiles, the sadness in his chest almost as warm as his mother’s voice. It makes his skin feel colder though, missing the heat of Liam’s fingertips. He can faintly feel it, swirling through the air from his dorm room window where he can sense Liam looking over them.

“One night he wasn’t sleeping,” Tricia goes on, eyes distant like she is remembering something that makes her lips lift up into a softer smile. “I found him pacing around the study, notebook in his hands. His eyes were lit up like they did when he was excited about something.”

She pulls her hand away for a moment to brush her fingers over the emerald stone hanging over his chest. “We spent weeks creating this stone, when you were still an infant. Your father was preoccupied with thoughts of you coming into harm’s way.”

“Why?” Zayn asks, touching the stone once his mother’s fingers leave and curl around his other hand again.

“We lost a baby,” Tricia says quietly. “And it broke your father. And me as well. I accidentally created a stone that created power out of fear after thinking about it, feeling you kick about in my stomach brought happiness to me but it always lingered with a bit of fear.”

Zayn squeezes his mother’s fingers. “Can you tell me more about him?”

“Of course,” Tricia huffs out, her voice tinted with amusement. “I could talk about that man for decades.”

Zayn smiles, wishing he could feel just happiness and nothing more. But the pain holds onto him even as his mother speaks, created by the thought in his mind of his father dying at the hands of Liam’s. It hasn’t been said out loud, but the thought has been in his mind since before Liam started dreaming.

“You look so much like him,” Tricia says quietly, tracing her fingers over Zayn’s cheekbone. “He would be so proud of you, and so am I.”

+*

Malay doesn't say a word as he steps into Liam’s room, a stack of papers in his hands. Liam pulls his eyes from where he looks out of his bedroom window for the first time since Zayn and his mother stepped outside.

He can feel the mix of pain and happiness leaking from the other lad, but it is also evident in the bracket of his shoulders and the way he constantly rubs at his eyes though a smile is placed on his lips.

“We have a small problem,” Malay says as he sits at Liam’s desk, sliding the papers across it. “You said _Patricia_ told you your father had outside help?”

Liam nods, glancing back at Zayn. Malay can say he believes him all he wants but it is evident the Headmaster hasn't decided if he truly does or not. He doesn’t even try to hide the heavy sound of disbelief coating his words. “Yes.”

“A woman with black and green hair you said? Around the same age as you now and when your father was in Thurmaston?”

Liam nods, glancing down at his hands as he pictures the woman from his dreams - _memories_ , trying to tug him to his father. The same woman who smelled like fire and rain at the Irish pub, who knew Liam’s name even though he didn't know hers.

And he regrets not asking.

“Who can change the weather? Cause floods?”

“Start fires,” Liam adds grimly.

Malay shakes his head, the same grim look on his face. “No, that is why she worked with your father. She can control all elements, except for that one. And apparently, she doesn't age either.”

“Who is it? Why does she need more power if she already has it?”

Malay pulls out a Manila folder with words scribbled on it that Liam cannot make out from where he sits. “Malia. She was in the Academy the same time as your parents. She could create wind, but it was nothing more than a breeze. The water? She could pull it into the air for only moments at the time. She could sift dirt around, but that was about it. I just don’t understand how she is helping him.”

He shuffles through the folder contents as Liam glances back out of the window, pulling his attention away from the rush of words coming from the professor.

“Can I ask you something?”

“What?” Malay says, stilling with his brows lifted high up his forehead.

“Is it possible to lose your power?”

Malay looks at him in confusion for a long moment before he puts the folder aside and crosses his legs. He cups his knee, eyes narrowing slightly though it isn’t menacing. Just thoughtful. “Yes. If you suffer a great loss, I have seen it happen. I aged quite a few years after Tricia and Yaser passed. I was afraid the last one hundred years were going to catch up with me with how quickly I was aging. I used to look younger than you.”

Liam frowns, glancing back at the gazebo but Zayn no longer sits inside of it.

“Liam, I have to apologize,” Malay says suddenly, pulling Liam’s attention back to him. “I have not asked how you are. I can’t imagine what you have seen, and I have been preoccupied with what you have told me that I have not expressed that I am here if you want to talk about what your father has done. How it affects you.”

Liam frowns, heart dropping in his chest as he shifts his fingers over his pants awkwardly. He has been trying to focus on anything other than that, replaying the smile on Zayn’s lips as he walked off with his mother instead of the memories of the pain his father had caused. “I didn’t tell Zayn, yet. I don’t think I can.”

“Tell me what?”

Liam startles as his eyes find Zayn lingering in the door way, his hands in front of him shifting nervously over each other. He can feel Tricia there too, but she stays invisible.

Malay presses his lips together before he stands, gesturing for Zayn to sit down. “Zayn, there is something Liam has discovered that may be hard to hear.”

“My mum,” Zayn says, his face scrunching together. There is a glow of happiness in his eyes though he radiates so many emotions it is hard to just pick out one, especially with the powerful tornado ripping inside of himself. “I already know.”

Malay stills, lips parting before he glances at Liam with accusation in his eyes. “We don’t know _that_ -”

“We do.”

Time seems to still for a moment as her voice suddenly sounds. The air around them tenses, and Malay practically turns to stone with how still he becomes as Zayn steps aside. Despite the exhaustion gripping his features, the smile he gives their professor makes his whole face glow.

The shake trembling through Malay is noticeable as she comes into view. He just stares at her, at the tears slipping down her cheeks though there is a smile on her lips as she looks back at the old man.

“Patricia?” Malay chokes out, his hands frozen in the air in front of him before Tricia takes them into her hands, nodding. “How? I -”

“James,” Tricia whispers, pulling Malay close but he still seems frozen. “I am so sorry.”

The sobbed way he speaks her name again tugs at Liam’s chest, making tears erupt over his own eyelids.

He shifts up from the bed then, wanting to give them their time together as a family but Zayn’s fingers grip at his shirt before he can get by.

“You don’t have to leave.”

Liam smiles softly, cupping his cheeks to place a kiss to the tip of his nose. “I do. I don’t think you want the son of the man who tore your family apart at the reunion.”

A wave of something harsh rushes off of Zayn as he grips Liam’s shirt tighter. “Liam, that has nothing to do with you.”

Liam only smiles softly before placing a soft kiss to his lips. “It has everything to do with me.”

+*

“You look like shit.”

Liam glances up at Niall who stands over him, his face shadowed as the sun radiates from behind him. Liam shifts up from where he had been laying in the grass, trying to soak in the cold outside air to cool the fire inside of him.

“Thanks, mate.”

Niall grins, though his eyes are concerned as he sits cross legged beside him. “No offense. You were asleep for like a whole day, mate. I was worried about you. You had Ned cryin’ at one point, he couldn’t even stay in the dorm.”

Liam plucks at the grass, tucking his knees to his chest with an arm curling tight around them. “Do you remember your dad?”

His best mate’s eyes widen in surprise at that before he gives Liam a jerky shrug. “A bit, yeah. Seen him a few times since he left me mum. When he was promoted to Inis, he stopped ‘round to say goodbye before he was leaving.”

Liam flicks the blades of grass across the ones still planted into the dirt. “I barely even remembered mine, and I found out it is because I had memories of him taken from me.”

“What?” Niall blurts, flicking Liam’s fingers as he reaches to pull more grass out.

Liam nods, letting out a heavy sigh as he curls his arm around the other one and rests his cheek to his knee. “It’s a long story.”

Niall shifts closer to tentatively wrap an arm around him. It makes Liam choke on the tears he is trying not to shed. “I have time to listen.”

Liam shakes his head, hiding his face against his knees and mumbling so quietly he isn’t sure if Niall can even hear him, but the thoughts hurt too much to say too loudly. “I should be upset about what my dad has done but I’m upset because Zayn is going to hate me because of it.”

“What?” Niall blurts again, though his tone is softer this time. “Zed could never hate you. Even if you like, I dunno, yelled at a puppy.”

Liam huffs out a wounded sound as Niall tightens his arm around him.

“I’m serious though,” Niall says softly, rubbing his hand over Liam’s shoulder. “It isn’t possible, mate.”

Liam slumps his shoulders, holding his breath for a long moment until the sob in his chest calms. It only grows worse though, when he feels Zayn approach.

He glances up, but doesn’t see anything other than the cold air around them. He wipes at his eyes, a terror building in his chest that he hates.

He feels Zayn disappear after only a moment, and he tucks his face back into his knees. “I think you’re wrong.”

Niall sighs heavily before he stands up and holds out a hand for him. Liam just glares at it, until Niall grips his hand to tug him up. “Come on then, let’s go set fire to some shit until you’re calm enough to talk to Zayn about it.”

Liam pulls his hand back. He knows Niall must feel how cold his skin is. Inside he is hot, but it only burns at his navel and doesn’t warm through his limbs. “I don’t think I can.”

“Sure you can,” Niall assures him gently. He rests his palms on Liam’s chest. “Think about your dad, think about whatever it is going on between you and Zayn, and burn it out.”

Liam huffs out, fingers clenching into fists by his side. “What if I can’t control it?”

Niall smiles softly, though his face remains serious. “You can, Liam. You have been. You can’t let this stuff suffocate you.”

The flames lick away from his palms when he relaxes his fingers. Liam stares down at them dismally, letting the sunken feeling in his chest burn through the rough skin of his palm. Bright shades of oranges and reds fill his eyes as the fire in his hand grows, sending a tremble down his spine as his mind flashes with the memories of those same colors coating the walls as he runs through the hallways.

Liam gasps slightly as the fire disappears, leaving only a trace of warmth in it’s place.

“I meant like,” Niall starts, grimacing slightly as he pushes his fingers through his hair, “Burning stuff up in a private, safe place.”

Liam wipes his cooling hand across his pants, as if trying to rub away any trace of fire from himself. “I’m just um, gonna go to my room. Sleep.”

Niall’s brows push together, and he doesn’t have to say it for Liam to know he is probably thinking he has slept enough. Niall just claps him on the back though, thankfully, tilting his chin at him.

When he gets to his dorm, it is empty. He feels disoriented, unsure of what day it is or what class he is supposed to be in. He drags his feet over the carpet of the hallway, hoping Malay will excuse him skipping classes.

On his bed is a thick book, with bulky white letters across the front reading _The Power of Soulmates_. Liam slides onto his bed before pulling it into his lap, fingering at the piece of paper that sticks out of the middle of it.

_Not sure what is on your mind, but I read bits of this while you were dreaming. I thought maybe it could have convince your brain to think of good things. Love you x Z_

Zayn’s handwriting makes something painful twist in his chest. The _love you_ standing out like the image of his father killing Zayn’s father stands out in his mind.

Liam slips further down his pillows as his fingers tick against the book. He can practically feel the cool of Zayn’s touch on the thick pages. He is confused at first, eyes tracing over the _Once Upon A Time_ on the top of the page, wondering why Zayn left him a fairy tale. He has always fairy tales of those saving the day, even in small ways, but it only makes his heart hurt worse at the moment as he thinks of how far from a superhero he feels like.

_The Queen’s sister didn’t like this idea, calling a man clearly sent from Hell to the Castle. A man who could create fire with his hands and no tools surely must be a creation of the Devil. But the Queen did not agree. She craved to see the man, to understand why she could fel that same warmth from miles away._

_“After all these years, you show yourself?”_

_The Queen didn’t respond. If her sister believed the man who came to save the town was a man of evil, surely she believed her own sister was too. Who else had skin that turned to ice and then disappeared from the view? The Queen had long hidden it from the guards, staying quiet in the top of her tower._

_She knew the only reason her sister did not call her an abomination is because the Queen required those of the Castle to see her as Queen instead. Too afraid to know what those would do to her if they realized what she could do._

_“I will hide my face. Please take me to the Man of Fire.”_

_It had been years since the Queen had left her tower, struggling to deal with the curse and blessing of disappearing for no reason. Even longer since she had wandered through the ice cold dungeons below. But as she stepped deeper into the dungeons, she was overcome with a warmth like she had never felt before._

_“Must he be so heavily guarded?”_

_The Queen kept her voice low as not to alert the guards._

_“What do you expect, sister? The man can create fire without any tools. Just his hands. He is a threat unlike anything we have ever seen.”_

_The ice cold that always covered the Queen’s skin melted away as the guards parted way for her sister. She saw a face, one unfamiliar but one she had missed. Maybe from a dream, or a past life. It made her chest ache with the longing, a sudden feeling washing over her that seemed almost as overwhelming as the heat across her skin._

_“Kneel before your Queen.”_

_There was no mistaking the way the man’s eyes slid over the Hidden Queen and not her sister. A smile took over his lips, a small one as he fell to his knee. The Queen curled her fingers over the bars separating them. She knew they were hot, but they did not burn like they should._

_“What brings you to our land?”_

_“The winter,” the man says. He stood with permission, his fingers inching over the bars where the Queen’s fingers laid. “And I was told to come here, to find the other half of my soul.”_

Liam closes the book, his finger stuck in between the pages to keep his place as he stares hard up at the ceiling. He wishes he knew what Zayn had been thinking when he read about the Hidden Queen and the Man of Ignis. He wishes he felt comfortable enough to ask him.

He wishes he felt anything other than the burning hole in his chest. It isn’t like the flame he feels before his body grows hot, but something acidic, eating away at him from the inside. It is fueled by the flashes of his dreams, of Yaser’s last words to his wife.

Liam cusses quietly, pressing his wet eyelids closed as tightly as possible as if that could wash away his thoughts before he opens them and begins to read again.

_“My lady, he burned down half the village.”_

_The Queen wanted to shush the guard that spoke out of turn, but the Man of Fire only smiled. A smile brighter than any flame._

_“My good friend,” the Man of Fire started, “I am sure you understand that controlling fire that pours from your hands is something that needs to be learned.”_

_It had been fast, the push of the guard’s sworn through the bars. The Queen felt the pain rush through her though the metal never touched her skin. She watched in horror at the pebbling drops of scarlet break through the dark of the Man of Fire’s thigh._

_The Queen gripped the man’s warm fingers as tight as possible. Her father had first hidden her long ago when he had caught her in the dungeons, healing the wounded that came in from the war._

_The guards and the Queen’s sister watched on in horror as the Man of Fire’s wound closed and the blood dried._

“Liam.”

Liam glances up from over the top of the book to find Ned standing in the doorway to his room, wearing a grim look on his face. “You okay?”

Liam nods, shifting back up his pillows. “You heard my dreams.”

The grim look only worsens as Ned nods and hesitantly steps into the quiet room. His hair is a mess on the top of his head, and for the first time since Liam has met him, the other lad has stubble of hair covering his cheeks.

“I’m sorry.”

Liam shakes his head, trying to muster up a genuine smile. He isn’t sure he is successful. He doesn’t know if Ned is apologizing for what happened, or for listening in. “Shit happens, man.”

Ned makes a strangled noise after that, his voice hoarse and Liam thinks of what Niall had said about their roommate crying as Liam dreamed. “Zayn doesn’t hate you.”

This startles Liam. His mouth falls open for a moment. He doesn’t think he had been thinking that, at least, not loudly enough for Ned to hear. (Though, he really isn’t sure _how_ that works.) It is in his mind, the hate that could come from Zayn if he told him about what his father had done. How the pain that has kept a hold onto Zayn all these years had been the fault of his father’s.

“He wouldn’t,” Ned goes on, fingers rubbing at the back of his neck. “He knows you aren’t your dad, man. He’ll understand.”

Liam only shrugs, flipping mindless at the pages between his fingers. There is so much certainty in Ned’s voice, but he doesn’t feel an inch of it. “I don’t quite fancy talking about it, to be honest.”

Ned sighs heavily, dragging his fingers through his hair once more. “Well, Headmaster Ho is looking for you. In the kitchen.”

Liam swallows thickly before dropping his book onto his heated blankets. “Did he say what he wanted?”

If he came to talk about Tricia and Zayn, Liam doesn’t think he can handle it. He feels a flame in his belly that is on the verge of becoming a wildfire. Since he woke, he feels like he has lost a bit of the control he has gained over the feeling.

“Nah. Seems kind of… _old_ today. Dunno.”

Liam understands when his eyes dart over Malay. It has only been a few hours since Malay had seen Tricia, but there is no happiness in his features like there should be. Instead, his skin is ashened, the wrinkles around his eyes deeper than before. A look in his eyes that shouldn’t be there after being reunited with one of your best friends after so many years. Liam sees where Ned thinks he looks older, but to Liam he just looks exhausted.

“Liam,” Malay greets, a forced smile taking over his lips. He claps his hands together awkwardly. “I hope I am not bothering you. I know you need your rest, but I was wondering if you would like to join Zayn, erm - and I, for dinner tonight. Maybe stay the night.”

Tension climbs over his back as he stares at the Headmaster. “Uh, I am like eight weeks behind on my homework. I should probably um, do that. But thank you.”

Malay lifts an eyebrow. It is clear in the way the Headmaster presses his lips together for a long moment before he speaks that he is not satisfied with Liam’s answer. “Are you actually doing your homework then?”

Liam feels his face grow hot. Before, his classes had been everything to him. Now they are barely a thought to him. Something seemingly unimportant at the moment. “Reading about soulmates, actually.”

Impossibly, Malay’s face seems to grow grimmer. “I hope you change your mind about joining us tonight. I would like to keep an eye on you.”

Liam holds back the snort he wants to let out. “I’m not going to burn down anything Professor, I promise. I’m feeling a bit cold at the moment, actually.”

And with that he walks away, feeling anything but cold.

+*

_She waited until the night. As the Castle slept she made her way to the dungeon. She knew him to be awake before she found him. His cage glowed from the fire in his hands as he stood to greet her. It illuminated his face, and in that moment the Queen knew he had found the other half of his soul in her._

_“It won’t harm you,” he had assured her, holding his hands out to offer her the flame. The only other sound in the dungeon was the soft snores from the guard that was supposed to be watching such a dangerous man._

_“How can you see me?” The Queen asked instead, looking up at the reflection of the flames flickering in the Man of Fire’s eyes._

_The fire did not burn as she touched it, waiting for the man to speak._

_“I cannot, though I would like to.”_

_The Queen showed her face as she felt the man’s fire absorb into her skin and wash over her bones._

_“My lady, do you believe in two souls becoming one?”_

_The Queen had hesitated, wary of the truth that she felt. “I’m afraid I do not know.”_

_“I do,” the Man of Fire had said as his flame grew and tickled over the Queen’s skin. “Because I have not felt whole until I met you.”_

+*

Before, it had felt as if their campus had been overrun by guardians. But that had been nothing compared to now as Malay had put together a team to search the grounds and the village with more vigilance than before. It made Zayn queasy, especially since he knows Malay isn’t telling him who they are looking for.

And really, he is just in a constant state of nausea because Liam has avoided him all day. He would have thought the other lad left the campus if it weren’t for the way the temperature spikes randomly throughout the day.

“Honey, you shouldn’t be skipping your studies.”

Zayn smiles softly as his mother takes a seat beside him where he sits by the window in Malay’s house. Her skin is warm as she takes one of his fidgeting hands into her own. “I don’t have any classes right now.”

“If I ask James that, would he say the same?”

Zayn feels his face grow warm. His studies just don’t seem important at the moment. “You said you were here to protect Liam and I from his father. Which means you think he has the ability to hurt us, even when he is heavily guarded in prison.”

His mother just sighs, squeezing his fingers for a long moment. “Geoff is hard headed, and will go to the ends of the Earth to get what he wants.”

“Like murder.”

Tricia’s eyes squint a bit as she leans closer to him, knocking their shoulders together. She only makes a small sound in response, quiet in the back of her throat.

“What does he want?”

Another sigh, sounding as tired as Zayn feels. His eyes burn with the force of trying to keep them open. “He has always wanted power. But what he wants to do with it, I haven’t the slightest.

Zayn tucks his face against his mother’s shoulder, soaking in the scent of her clothes. Malay had given her clothes of his, and the smell of his guardian is just as comforting as his mother. “And with Liam?”

The name comes out choked, making his mother coo softly as she drags her fingers through his hair. “What is it, sunshine?”

“Liam won’t talk to me.”

He hadn’t meant to say it, the words slipped from his lips before he could process the thought. It made him ache though, a pain rocking through his chest that hurts worse than anything he has felt before. There are other things that  he is upset about, but that stands out in the front of his mind.

“Like,” Zayn goes on, already feeling his throat grow tight. Something about his mother’s touch makes the tears grow quickly behind his eyelids. He has craved moments like these, being able to seek out the comfort of his mother but he wishes he didn’t have this particular reason for needing her comfort. “I haven’t really tried, because I can feel this anger coming from him.”

It feels toxic, making his skin crawl. It can’t be directed towards him, he didn’t do anything to deserve Liam being angry with him. But Liam only gives him half glances whenever they run into each other, so he must have done something.

“It isn’t directed towards you, sunshine,” Tricia says gently as she brushes her fingers over his cheek before tilting his head back gently to look at him. “He just learned how awful of a man his father is. Not only did he hurt Liam, but he hurt the people Liam loves most in the world.”

Zayn nods, shifting his face into the crook of her neck to choke out the sob in his chest. She rubs her palms over his shoulders, as if to help the ease the ache taking over his lungs.

“You know what might be helpful here?” Tricia says quietly. “Talking to him.”

Zayn pulls away, letting out a watery laugh though he feels no amusement. He hates that he is timid, that he is too nervous to ask Liam what is going through his mind. It is Liam, his Liam.

“That is something Malay would say.”

Tricia laughs too, tears lining her eyes. “They say the old are wise.”

At the sound of the front door opening, Tricia places a kiss to Zayn’s forehead before she pats his wet cheeks. “Speaking of your Headmaster, I need to talk to him. Why don’t you go talk to your bae.”

“Mum,” Zayn complains quietly. “Don’t say that.”

His mother lets out a hearty laugh as they stand. “Is ‘bae’ not a thing?”

“No,” Zayn groans quietly, lips quirking up and his tears drying.

As they make their way downstairs, they meet Malay coming up the stairs. His face is just as stressed as it has been, but Zayn swears he looks older. His knuckles are white where they grip the railing with each step, and his eyes latched to the ground before they land on him.

“Zayn, my boy. You are here, good.”

“What is it James?”

Malay seems distracted as he keeps walking up the steps past them, making Tricia and Zayn turn around to follow after him. “Nothing, I am sure. I just want Zayn here to ease my mind.”

“James,” Tricia says firmly, and Malay stops dead in his tracks at the top of the stairs before turning around to face her.

“Karen Payne received an alarming phone call from her husband. He told her he would be seeing her shortly. I think it was merely a scare tactic to get Karen to take Liam away from campus. But, I would prefer to keep Zayn close just in case it holds any weight to it.”

Zayn’s heart spikes in his chest and he practically jumps onto the next step to be closer to Malay. “What about Liam?”

“I invited him over. I couldn’t tell him why though. The poor boy has gone through enough. I begged Karen to not come to campus, but I’m quite sure she -”

Zayn turns around as if Liam is going to pop out from the entranceway somehow, ignoring the words flooding out of Malay’s mouth. “Where is he, then?”

Malay cocks his head to the side for a moment, grimacing slightly. “He didn’t want to come.”

+*

The storm crackles loud above the sky, making the trees scratch across the glass window. Liam has the bottom half open, needing the breeze to cool the hot room. Niall had long disappeared, to Zayn’s room he thinks. Liam doesn’t blame him, because he has been either boiling Niall or causing him to freeze.

_“I am not afraid of death, my Queen. For my soul will always finds yours.”_

The noise of the storm makes it hard to focus on the book. His mind has been wandering off all day, so it has been hard to stay focused on it enough to finish reading it. He thinks he is over analyzing it too much, wanting to know what it means that the guards and the people of the Castle want the Man of Fire dead for what he can do. What it means that the Queen feels everything the Man of Fire feels.

What Zayn was thinking when he thought this would ease his mind. He has a pit in his stomach because he is afraid the Man of Fire is going to die, because of the way they cast him off as evil and Liam is afraid others think of him the same.

Liam places the book down instead of continuing. It is near midnight, and it feels as if he has bugs under his skin with how antsy he feels. Malay had invited him to sleep at his home tonight, and he knows that is where Zayn is. He doesn’t know why, but the grim look in Malay’s eyes had scared him.

Liam tip toes into Zayn’s room, hoping to find the comfort of Zayn in the room. But instead he finds a withering body under the covers, and hears a muttering that is masked by the growling sounds of thunder.

“Ned,” Liam mutters, sliding his hand over where Ned rocks himself under his blankets. His face is strained, eyes pressed tight and there is just enough light in the room to see the tears slipping down his cheeks. “Ned, what is it?”

Ned startles, eyes ripping open. His hands cup over his ears, his nails digging in so hard that when he pulls them away he leaves red, crescent shapes indented into his skin.

“What is that noise?”

“The storm?” Liam asks, lifting up an eyebrow. The thump of his heart had been fast to begin with, but it practically beats up his sternum now as he remembers the last time Ned heard noise under the storm.

“I need to get Malay,” Ned blurts, but all of the color seeps from his skin as he attempts to sit up. Under Liam’s palm, he can feel the tremor rocking through the other lad. “Fuck - what if they are out there?”

“Who?” Liam insists, cupping a hand under Ned’s jaw so the man will look at him. “What are they saying?”

Ned goes quiet for a moment, head cocked towards the window as if he is listening. “ _‘Is the boy with James?_ ’”

Liam feels the heat seep out of his body as he drops his hands from Ned’s face. He barely has time to process his thoughts before he is getting up and heading towards the door.

“Liam!” Ned calls after him, though the other lad doesn’t move a muscle. “Where are you going?”

“To get Malay, stay here,” he calls back, the fire inside of him starting up again as he pushes open the door to the outside. He can protect himself more than Ned can, but that is in the back of his head. _Zayn, Zayn, Zayn_ echoes through the front.

Water floods down from the sky, sloshing over his bare feet before turning into smoke. It makes it hard to see, the waterdroplets collecting on his eyelashes. There are barely any lights on the pathway to Malay’s house, which seems incredibly far in the dark of the night.

Liam feels as if he is losing the control of the fire burning inside of him again as his mind runs over panicked thoughts. It comes in bursts, fire sparking over a bench he walks by, sliding over the sidewalk, or erupting in midair in front of him before burning out.

It slides over his arms as he nears Malay’s house. He just reaches for the gate handle when his fire starts to burn him. He gasps, fingers brushing over the flames licking up his arms. It is unfamiliar. The dance of the flames are different, the smoke, the pain licking over his skin as the flames dart over his chest.

Liam opens his mouth to scream when fingers dig harshly into his throat. The fire disappears, leaving only an burning ache in it’s wake.

“Son,” he hears at the same time as he feels wet lips brushing against his ear. The fingers dig harder into his throat, forcing his head back some. “Why has it been so hard to find you?”

+*

Zayn can’t sleep. He has tried twice to break out of Malay’s house to find Liam, but his mother must have a secret power of being able to sense his every movement because she has been there every time.

He stares up at the ceiling, tears slipping down the side of his face. He feels like the pain in his chest from his worry, from Liam not talking to him, has erupted out of his heart and covered his body like a blanket. It is consuming, making panic rise into his throat.

“Fuck,” Zayn gasps, pushing up from his bed. He feels like he is burning to death, his skin slicking hot with sweat. It is painful, like his skin is burning with every drop of sweat sliding down his arms.

It makes him dizzy, his eyes going on focused as he stumbles over towards the window. The glass is cold under his palms, and he presses his face to it in hopes of cooling himself down.

He gasps when he sees the flames outside of the gate. He can’t make out exactly what it is in the dark and the pouring rain, but he knows either way. He can feel it, a feeling he knows more than anything else. He could find Liam in the darkest of nights, with both eyes closed if he just followed that feeling.

Zayn curls his fingers under the glass as the fire disappears. His body freezes from the cool air breezing through the window and the sudden disappearance of the fire on his skin. He opens his mouth to scream before his legs buckle out from underneath him.


	11. Chapter 11

_Zayn traces his fingers across the hot metal bars. They don’t burn his skin, but burn through him. The smell of smoke fills him, and he inches towards it as if a string were pulling him forward._

_His eyes light up as he steps out of the dungeon, his bare feet sinking into the wet grass. It is chaos around him, flames taking over the tall trees and soldiers in clunky armor running around the field in front of the castle His heart clenches as he runs forward. No one seems to notice him as he searches for her._

_When he hears her, the voice is as familiar as his own. The noise around him seems to seep away, leaving only her panicked sobs._

_The soldiers are frozen in place, watching the way she falls to the ground. Zayn pushes through them to find her on her knees. Her dress is browned with mud, and the hand she holds up to keep them away stained with scarlet. "Get away from him! What did you do?"_

_The only sound now is the trees breaking from the flames the grow more wild, and the distant shout of soldiers trying to put it out. Zayn can barely hear her sobs until he inches up behind her. She doesn’t flinch when he touches a hand to her back, but she flickers away from view._

_“Help me.”_

_In front of her lays the Man of Ignis. Scarlet blossoms across his abdomen, and his skin pales. His chest barely moves with his breathing, and the Queen’s hands shake when she slides them through the red bubbling from his skin._

_“What happened?” Zayn breathes, sinking to his knees beside her. The Man of Ignis’ skin is colder than the Queen’s, nearly like ice as Zayn slides his fingers tentatively over his shoulder. He tries not to react when he makes eye contact with the Queen. Her eyes glow bright, as if flashlights were where her eyes are supposed to be._

_“They thought killing him would stop the fire,” The Queen chokes out. She presses her eyes closed tightly in concentration, her hands moving over her lover’s. The fire flickers in the tears slipping from the corners of her eyes and rolling down her cheeks. “Help me, please.”_

 

Zayn’s eyes are blurry when he wakes. Even after he blinks them a few times, it is hard to make out the face looking over him. The person’s tears drop over his skin, and after a beat, he knows it is his mother when he feels her fingers sliding through his hair.

“Hey my boy,” he hears Malay say from somewhere to his left. His head hurts, like a bad headache but also a pounding against his skull. “You’re okay.”

Zayn feels confused for a long moment as he lets his eyes close and his body sink into the mattress. It was one of the first times he had dreamt about something other than his parents’ death, but still fire had haunted him. When he had read about the Man of Fire’s death, he had tucked his wet eyes against Liam’s sleeping chest -

It flashes back to him, the burning of his skin, the fire that had been outside. He flies up, and both his mother and James reach out to press their hands against his chest as if to hold him back.

“Liam.”

“What?” Malay says, reaching to cup Zayn’s face. The fierce worried look in his eye makes Zayn’s stomach twist. “Zayn we found you unconscious in your room. You need to rest before the Healers get here.”

“I was unconscious because Liam passed out. I think, I don’t know how it works, I just need to go.”

Malay lets go of his face to grip his shoulder, and though it isn’t painful, it demands for him to be remain seated. “Explain it to me. Tricia, please ask Professor Greene to check Liam’s dorm. He should still be waiting downstairs. Apologize again for waking him in the late hour.”

Panic makes him feel like he is going to throw up, but he closes his eyes and tries to focus on feeling Liam like he sometimes can. But he can’t feel anything.

“I couldn’t sleep,” Zayn blurts, chest heaving as he tries to calm himself down. “And I thought I was just upset, but I got really fucking hot so I decided to go to the window to cool down. I saw a fire, and when it went out, so did I. I guess, I don’t know.”

“When you were hot, did it hurt? Or did it feel like when Liam is hot?” Malay asks after a moment, unbothered by Zayn’s cursing though he usually is quick to tell Zayn to watch his mouth.

“It hurt.”

The color seeps out of his Professor’s face as the older man stands up. “Do not leave.”

But Zayn grabs for him, gripping Malay’s arm tightly. “You should have warned him.”

Malay’s face grays as he frowns. “I know.”

+*

In hindsight, Liam doesn’t think he needed Tricia’s bracelet to trigger his memories. The booming sound of the voice in his ears makes his mind flood with images and memories of yelling and screaming. He tries to focus on the ache running through his body instead of them, because the memories hurt worse than the pain in his arms.

Sweat takes over his skin completely, but the fire dancing over his arms doesn’t burn. It is his own, more of a comfort than ever once he realized the flames that burned him were not his own.

He keeps his eyes latched to the ceiling, feeling the tears slip down over the sides of his face. It isn’t comfortable, but he doesn’t want to look anywhere else but the cobwebs and broken wood above him. He can feel Zayn here, more prominent than anywhere else.

“Son.”

Liam doesn’t respond, though his fingers tighten over the rope wrapped around his wrists behind him. He has a bit of a headache from being knocked out, and when his father speaks his head pulses with pain.

“I need you to call Zayn here.”

Liam swallows thickly. He doesn’t know how his father would expect him to do that, but he doesn’t care. “No.”

Fire erupts over his toes, and his legs jerk up to move his feet from the ground but the fire follows for a moment before disappearing.

“He should be able to feel your pain, either way right? I’m sure he’ll be drawn here in search of you.”

Liam swallows again, trying not to focus on any pain or emotion that could signal Zayn. He just doesn’t know how it works enough to understand how to stop it. He doesn’t know how his father knows either. The woman working with him shouldn’t know anything about him to tell him.

He looks away from the ceiling, his watery eyes running over his father. He wears a regular t-shirt and jeans. He would look like a normal father if it wasn’t for the fire burning over his fingers, and the lack of care in his eyes.

“You tried to kill me here once before, didn’t you?” Liam says conversationally as he glances around the old, burned down labratory. He had never understood why Zayn had wanted to come here, it had always given him a creepy vibe. And it is only worse now that he remembers the fire that tore down the walls. “What’s a second time, right?”

His father lets out an amused laugh, though it is acidic around the edges. “I never tried to kill you, and I never will.”

Liam locks his eyes onto his father as the fire disappears from the other man. Liam’s only burns brighter.

“If you die, that will make Zayn weak. And I need the boy strong.”

It is out of his control, the way fire erupts around Geoff’s feet. The man just lets out a laugh though before flinging his hand out to cover Liam’s flames with his own. “Malia! Bring the bae in here, would you?”

A chill runs down Liam’s back as he tries to find the direction in which Malia is going to appear. It is from the main entrance, but Liam closes his eyes and turns his head away as if he can’t see  Griff being dragged in behind her.

“Every flame thrown from you will be thrown right back at him.”

Liam looks back at the ceiling, trying to calm the fire in his chest. “What is the fucking point of all of this?”

His father laughs again. Liam decides it is the worst sound in the world.

“The point of having you here, is to get Zayn here. The point of having Griffin here, is to make sure you help me.”

Liam changes his mind. The sound of his father saying Zayn’s name is the worst sound he has ever heard. “What is the point of having Zayn here?”

As if it proved any point, flames erupt from the floor. They crawl up the walls and fills Liam’s vision as they tickle over the ceiling. It flashes through his mind, hiding behind the old labratory tables. The way this same room was consumed in fire as Zayn’s father lay on the ground.

The fire burns for a few moments before disappearing completely. They don’tt burn out, but rather just disappeared into thin air.

“I am not strong enough,” his father says quietly. It takes a few minutes before he continues again. And Liam can’t do anything other than wait. “I can only control the flames so much. Being away for so long, unable to use my power, seems to have depleted it.”

For the first time, there is a hint of care in his voice. But quiet, deeply hidden.

“Maybe that is a good thing,” Liam mumbles quietly. He is trying to focus more on the burn of fire inside of him rather than what his father says, because he doesn’t think he can live with himself if Griff gets burned because Liam has no control over himself.

Another laugh. “Maybe.”

“Not for me.”

It is the first time Malia has spoken. She looks more cruel than Liam remembers, her lips pulled up into a twisted grin as she traces her fingers over Griff’s jaw. Her green hair is loose, her curls bouncing over her shoulders. He remembers her smelling like fire, but everything around him does that it doesn’t stand out this time.

“You see,” Malia says, eyes flicking away from Griff and to Liam, but he pulls his eyes away. “I can only do this for a moment. I can create power from fear, but I need a stronger power source you see.”

There is a loud crack over the sky before a light flashes through the dark building. The rain hasn’t stopped, though Liam really isn’t sure how long it has been since he had left his dorm. It has seemed to be getting heavier, and louder. But suddenly it stops.

Panic takes over Liam at the gasp that rips from Griff’s lungs. That same panic is in his widen eyes. Malia’s palm slides over his throat, her head tilted to the side as she looks at him with pity on her face. “I can only stop his breath for a few moments, can only stop the storm outside for a second more.”

The rain comes down harder as Griff sucks in a deep breath, his chest heaving with the force of it. She lets him go as she lets out an annoyed sigh.

“Enough, Malia,” Geoff says with an annoyed sound to his voice too. “I told you no harming the boy.”

Malia rolls her eyes before pushing on Griff’s shoulder so he has to sit on the ground a few yards away from Liam. “Did he admit to having the stone yet?”

Geoff leans against a lab table, one that survived the fire that took down the building so long ago. A tiny flame dances over the tips of his fingers. His father watches it for a long moment before glancing back at him.

“You know who saved you from dying in this building the first time?”

The flame inside of him builds quickly and he sucks in a breath. He plays over a song in his head, focusing on the words to distract himself from the anger that bubbles inside of him.

_Mary had a little lamb, little lamb._

“Tricia Malik. She was wearing the stone in that fire. Do you know what she did with it?”

_Mary had a little lamb, with a smile that would glow. And eveywhere Mary went, her little lamb would follow._

“I thought it burned with her,” his father goes on, either not noticing or not caring that Liam is trying not to pay attention. “Until I found out you made it out of the fire. I watched you two go up in flames, and I had thought it was my doing. But I realized it was yours.”

Pain twists in Liam’s chest as he presses his wet eyelids together. _Why does the lamb love Mary, so? Love Mary so?_

“I thought you would have the stone after all these years, but Malia told me she saw it on Tricia’s son.”

Auntie Rosie’s face fills the back of his eyelids, calming the static of heat that tickles his skin as his father brings up Zayn again. _Why because Mary loves the lamb you know, loves the lamb you know._

“And how wonderful that is,” Geoff says, genuine happiness in his voice. Liam finally opens his eyes, watching the flame grow in his father’s palm. “I will get my stone, and I will get Zayn’s power, too.”

Liam swallows thickly as he feels the heat rush from his skin.

+*

Malay had told him to stay put, but Zayn feels as if he could explode. He paces, trying to feel for Liam, trying to clear his mind of the pain he had felt over his skin and not think about how it was Liam’s pain. He tries to think of anything but his panicked thoughts, but he can’t.

Especially not since his mother informed him that Griff was no where to be found, either. And the rain falls from the sky violently.

His other roommates are in one of the many rooms in Malay’s house. No one told him why, but he knows it is because all of the attacks have been centered in on them. Scout, Ned, himself, and now Griff.

“Honey, I’ve made something for you to eat.”

Zayn startles at the sudden sound of his mother’s voice from the doorway. “I thought you were going to help Malay?”

His mother raises her eyebrows, her expression soft but the worry is in her eyes. “Well, other than the fact that everyone but him and you thinks I am dead, I thought it better to stay with you.”

Zayn stops pacing, his fingers tracing over the glass window as he stares at the heavy rain sliding down on the other side. “Griff is causing the rain, I think.”

He hadn’t heard his mother come close, so he startles again when her hand slips against the back of his shoulders. She is quite short compared to him, but her presence feels huge. “Maybe offer your friends some food too. Liam and Griffin are their friends as well.”

Zayn turns, linking his fingers with his mother’s. She is right. It isn’t only him worrying about Liam and Griff, it is just him who can’t control the ice constantly taking over his skin as if turning invisible will hide him away from the truth that they are both probably in danger. “What did you make?”

“A little bit of everything.”

His mother hadn’t been lying. It hadn’t felt like enough time had passed for her to cook enough to cover the whole entire kitchen with plates and dishes, but the sky is so dismal and gray, he can’t tell what part of the day it is.

Zayn’s roommates shuffle in, and they barely seem to notice Tricia leaning against the counter at first as they come towards him. Ned is first, his face grim and gray as he reaches for Zayn.

“It is my fault,” he mumbles. It is unusual for Ned to embrace him like this. All of his humor is gone, and it makes Zayn’s stomach knot. “I let him wander out alone.”

“What?” Zayn asks, releasing his grip around Ned’s shoulder so the other lad can pull back. His face grays even more.

“Heard voices,” Ned says quietly, shoulders hunching forward and making the taller lad seem smaller. “It was like, I don’t know. When I was younger, I thought I was goin’ mad when I first started developing my power. Scared the living shit out of me, and sometimes at night, it makes me paralyze all up.”

Ned lets out a long sigh as he rubs his palm over his face. “I just let Li go by himself.”

Zayn parts his lips though he isn’t sure what to respond when Niall captures his attention with a loud whispered, _holy shite_.

He holds a plate in his hands, Harry by his side, and eyes wide and planted on Tricia. Everyone turns towards her, but no one else’s confusion seems as strong as Niall’s.

“What the bloody -” Niall starts louder this time, but Tricia interrupts him.

“Watch your mouth,” she says kindly, pushing off from the counter to step towards him. “There is a lot going on.”

“Tell us,” Scout interrupts. A shy look crosses their face, eyes widening with apology. “Sorry I mean, why are we here? Who are you? Where is Liam? Griff?”

Tricia sighs, her slender fingers wrapping around the edge of a plate before she offers it to Scout. “My name is Tricia, and I am Zayn’s mum.”

It goes eerily quiet for a moment, and ice slithers up Zayn’s back as he starts to disappear from all of the eyes flickering towards him.

“You are here, because there have been attacks on all of you,” Tricia says as if she were telling someone the weather forecast called for rain while it poured outside. “We do not know where Liam and Griff are, but your Headmaster thinks Liam’s father has taken them.”

Zayn goes colder. He had considered this, he knew it had to be related to his father, but hearing his mother say it outloud makes him feel as if he is shattering into a million pieces. Some of his roommates look confused, but Niall swears quietly, reaching out for Harry to bury his face against the taller lad’s shoulder.

“Why?” Scout asks, placing their plate on the counter after holding it for only a moment.

The kind look never leaves Tricia’s face, but sadness takes over her eyes as she rests back against the counter. “Geoff Payne has a way of taking power from people and using it himself. He wants Liam’s.”

Her eyes flicker to Zayn for a moment, before her lips press together tightly.

“And mine,” Zayn says quietly, his fists tightening around his sides. He feels himself flicker from view the way the Hidden Queen did in his dream, and it nearly takes his breath away to keep himself from doing it again under the sad eyes of his roommates.

+*

Liam’s arms are starting to ache. It feels as if years have gone by, but the sky hasn’t lightened outside any. It could be day time, but the heavy clouds overhead keep the sun from breaking through. Two little rabbits had managed to break into the room, shivering and hiding against one of the lab tables. They are covered in rain, and Liam hopes the heat he lets out dries them quickly.

His father and Malia are in the hallway, the sound of their voices floating in quietly. Liam eyes over Griff, whose eyes watch the feet he shuffles across the ground. The ties on his hands are rope, and Liam could burn them so he could run free, but he is afraid of burning him too much. Or his father burning him the moment he tries to run.

He could burn his own ropes, but he knows his father would just burn Griff then too.

“You okay over there, mate?”

The ache in his chest is his own, but he feels the way it mixes with Zayn feels. It worsens his. Liam’s throat feels dry as he swallows, unsure if he can even speak. “Are you?”

Griff lets out a soft laugh, twisted sounding. “I met her at the steel room, you know? I was meeting Sophia for the class notes? The class I missed when Scout had that accident at the pool?”

His normally bright eyes are blood shot. Even with the distance between them, it is visible. Sweat gleams over his forehead, which is Liam’s fault he is sure. Focusing on the flame makes it hard to keep down the heat radiating from him. “Thought I would have definitely noticed someone that beautiful around campus before. Especially someone with green hair, ya know?”

Liam sighs, shifting in his chair though there is no chance of becoming comfortable. “I hope you aren’t feeling bad about anything. You shouldn’t be here. None of this has anything to do with you.”

Griff glances up at him before diverting his eyes. More lightning, more thunder. The sound makes the tiny rabbits jump around. Liam knows if he had the same power as Harry, he would be able to understand the rabbits saying they were afraid.

It must cross his mind at the same time as Griff’s, but Griff is the one saying the name echoing in his head. “Harry.”

The cracking sound overhead stops as Griff glances at the door his father is outside of before schooching his butt across the floor. He doesn’t get too close, but he folds in half, bending his top half towards his legs as he whispers to the rabbits. “Tell Harry.”

Griff sits up straight when the sound of Geoff’s heavy boots sound. Liam has no clue if the rabbits can understand a human that isn’t Harry, and he has no idea what it means that the rabbits keep bouncing around.

“I don’t want to be here long.”

Liam glances at his father. “Then go?”

Geoff smiles, eyes bright with amusement. “Your mother is going to arrive to campus soon. I asked Bobby Horan to call her once I was long and gone from Inis. I do hope to see her.”

Liam lets out a long exhale, leaving the taste of smoke on his tongue. “So you become powerful, and then what? Set shit on fire? Kill some dads?”

Anger flickers over his father’s face for a moment, and though Liam wants to pull his eyes away, he doesn’t. The older man crosses his arms, his fingers tapping against his elbows as he rests back against the wall with a thoughtful look on his face.

“Have you ever thought about how a majority of the people we share this world with, know nothing about us? We live hidden, as exceptional doctors and scientists, fight the front lines during war. The only time we are seen are when we are doing magic tricks, seen as scammers.”

Liam glances at Griff from the corner of his eye before resting back against the chair. He needs the distraction of his father talking to calm himself. And the way his mind races to understand helps with making himself cool down.

“Average people are rewarded because they are great at being average, yet we can’t be rewarded for being able to heal someone with a gentle touch. For being able to take a bullet without a wound, or change the weather with just a thought.”

Geoff holds his hands out, his face lighting up almost in excitement. “We are the backbone, while the average are the face. We shouldn’t have to hide our abilites anymore.”

Liam had never considered it, never felt like he was hiding his power. But his contact with average people had been limited. He had grown up in a neighborhood of people like them, because it was easier to explain if the house accidentally went up in flames here and there.

“What makes you think that you can change that? You’re just going to convince half the world to follow behind you and announce to everyone that they have _powers_?”

It is Griff that speaks this time, his words coming out huffed and amused sounding. But he looks nothing but tired. Liam wonders if the weather is draining him.

Geoff doesn’t seem bothered, merely shrugging. Liam doesn’t realize how tense he had been thinking Geoff would send a flame towards Griff after that until he feels himself relax as his father starts speaking again.

“You’d be surprised how many people are willing to speak out on things they haven’t said before as soon as someone else does first.”

Malia comes in then, pulling a phone from her ear and shoving it into her pocket. She glances at Liam before winking quickly. “Geoff, Green says they are in.”

Geoff only looks at her for a moment without responding. His brows furrow, and there is something about his face that reminds Liam so much of his own face that it makes the fire inside of him spark.

“Have you heard of the Hidden Queen and the Man of Fire?”

Liam could laugh, but he doesn’t make a sound. He doesn’t even respond.

“Well,” Geoff continues casually. Whatever Malia meant by Green and them clearly doesn’t matter to him. But it stands in the front of Liam’s mind. “They are a myth to some, about how powerful love can make you. Or something. But to others, quite a big group of people really, they actually believe that the Hidden Queen and her lover’s souls are going to find each other again one day, and create power that could save us all. That they are going to be our sign to move out from the shadows.”

A grin takes over his father’s lips as he holds his hands out. Flames flicker over his palms. “It won’t be hard to convince those people it is Malia and I. We just need power.”

Liam lets out a sharp breath. Fire takes over his legs, but it is his own. It makes him feel a bit better, releasing the burn in his belly, but it is not enough. “Why them?”

Geoff shrugs, unalarmed by Liam’s growing fire. “The Queen had to hide in her tower her whole life because of who she was and what she could do. When she tried to be seen, they killed her lover. They believe she is going to come back with a vengeance, and this time she won’t be stopped.”

Liam is slightly aware of Griff calling his name quietly, the sound of warning in his voice. But Liam doesn’t look towards him, keeping his eyes locked onto his father. “Is that why you want the Malik stones? To be able to do things no one else can do?”

“Yeah,” Geoff says as he starts off towards Griff. “Yaser was one of those soul believer types. He thought the Hidden Queen and the Man of Fire were to come together again and that would be our sign to show the world who we are. He wanted to prepare for them. That is why he created the stones in the first place.”

Liam cranes his neck trying to follow his father’s movements. Light flickers over his pale skin, the beads of sweat over his eyebrow growing as he steps closer to Griff.

“Son,” Geoff says, reaching down to shove a hand hard against Griff’s chest. Both Liam and him shout, Liam’s body jerking in the chair enough that it shuffles back.

Fire takes over the back wall, and slowly slides over the ground. Malia grabs Griff’s hands to pull him back, and Geoff steps away from the fire. He hadn’t realized it had been growing so rapidly.

When it slides over Liam’s feet, it doesn’t burn.

“If you don’t stop that,” Geoff says without emotion, but his eyes are like knives. “I will make your friend here sit in it.”

Liam sucks in a breath, but he keeps himself surrounded by the fire. He knows it won’t hurt Griff, only his father. He doesn’t know how he knows that, or if he really should trust that, but he does anyway.

When he doesn’t stop, Geoff’s face hardens. “Lets see how many people you can hold off, boy. Half the village has walked through those gates, and they will be coming here.” Geoff flicks his hand towards Malia. “Throw the boy into the fire.”

+*

“I guess I just don’t understand why he wants power.”

Zayn plays with his food, moving it around his plate and scraping his fork through it. His stomach is too sour to eat. Malay still hasn’t returned, and he is starting to feel trapped inside of this house with his roommates and his mother.

“Everyone wants power,” Harry says from where he sits at the window, eyes on the rain drops falling heavily from the sky. Niall sits on the ground against his legs, finishing his third plate of food. Scout’s head is against his thigh. They haven’t said much this whole time.

“He has been at Inis Correctional for a long time,” Tricia says quietly. Her fingers tickle soothingly against Zayn’s back. “It has probably weakened him, not being able to use his power for that long.”

“What does he think having Liam is going to do?” Ned asks in irritation as he throws his legs over the arm of the chair he sits on. “Help him?”

“Not by choice,” Tricia mumbles quietly, making Zayn grow tense. “That is probably why they have taken your friend Griff, as well.”

She stands up suddenly, an attentive look on her face. “Do you hear that?”

The room falls quiet. Zayn doesn’t hear anything, and his roommates look at his mother with confusion on their faces.

Tricia tilts her head as if she is listening. “Does this campus have an alarm system?”

His roommates shrug at the same time as Zayn nods. Malay had installed it when he was younger. He only remembers because of how angry Malay had been at the price, and how he couldn’t negotiate it lower.

Tricia’s fingers brush over Zayn’s cheek. “Be right back, sunshine. Don’t leave this room. I’m going to make a phone call.”

Zayn sinks into the couch he sits on, pushing his plate to the side. He is going to burst if one more person says that to him. He closes his eyes, wishing away the ache in his chest.

It isn’t his own, really. He can feel Liam there. Zayn’s skin is warm, almost as warm as Liam’s touch.

“Look at that,” Harry gasps, pulling Zayn’s attention away from Liam’s warmth. A look of amazement covers his face as he stands up, pointing out the window.

The rain has stopped some, just a trickle of water from the sky. They all stand, heading towards the window.

It takes Zayn a moment to figure out what Harry is pointing out. He searches around until he sees it, a sea of gray and brown fluffiness on the wet ground.

The little rabbits are pushing through the holes in the gate. There are hundreds of them filtering into Malay’s front yard.

“Do you think they are here for me?” Harry whispers, a note of excited curiosity in his voice. “I’m going to see them.”

“I’ll come with,” Niall says, gripping Harry’s hand before the curly headed lad can leave the room, and Ned follows after them.

Birds flock to the gate as Zayn sits where Harry had been. Heat flickers in his abdomen and he closes his eyes, wanting to savor the feeling as if Liam were beside him.

“This is all fucked up man,” Scout mumbles from where he sits across the room.

“Don’t be scared,” Zayn says quietly, fingers sliding over the wet window pane. The trees in the front yard sway though there is barely any wind. “Fear is another way they get power.”

Scout makes a strangled noise. “Oh well, easier said than done, my guy.”

The fire inside of him burns even hotter. It is unusual, sprouting out from his abdomen. He wonders for a moment if this is how Liam always feels as he presses his face against the cold window pane. He can feel Scout’s eyes on him, and he shuffles quickly out of the room.

It is hot, but not like the night before. Like a warmth soaking through his skin. He wonders if Liam knows he is doing it, making Zayn feel the fire that is probably surrounding him. He stumbles down the stairs, wanting the cool outside air.

“Zayn!”

Zayn wipes at his forehead, swiping away the droplets of sweat building up to look at Professor Green emerging from the direction of the back of the house. He looks slightly alarmed, his face red as if he had ran to Malay’s.

“Your mother had to rush out. Someone breached the gates. A group of people, working with Geoff, we think.”

“What?” Zayn blurts out.

He gets an irriated look in response. “A large group of people are on campus, bad guys. You are not safe, your mother wants you to meet her. But she doesn’t want you to go alone.”

Zayn feels a tension grow over his shoulders as he eyes over the Professor’s face. It doesn’t feel right, and his mother wouldn’t leave without telling him. But he doesn’t think the Professor is going to take no for an answer. And there is something about him that feels like he has been near Liam, but he can’t put his finger on it. A gut feeling, a smell? The way the heat takes over his skin? He can’t tell.

“Okay um, just let me get my necklace.”

He wears it, hidden under the collar of his shirt. The Professor lifts his eyebrows before nodding pointedly. “Right, very good idea.”

Zayn is quick, rushing back into the room Scout is in. Scout’s eyes go wide, probably at the alarmed look on Zayn’s face.

“Scout,” Zayn whispers, as he undoes the necklace clasp at the back of his neck. He hands it to his roommate. “Wear this. Do not take it off, okay?”

Scout nods, their thick brows furrowing together. Zayn waits for them to clasp the necklace around their neck before he moves away. “Check on me mum in a minute, okay? She should be in Malay’s office, s’where the phone is.”

Scout pushes up from where they sit then, fingers digging into the cushiony arm. “Where are you going?”

“I don’t know,” Zayn murmurs. “Just stay here.”

+*

Scout stares at the door that Zayn disappears through. Their mind races with confusion. The necklace pulses against their chest. When Scout brushes their fingers over it, they can feel the power coming off of it.

Scout stays still. Distantly, the sound of the alarm buzzes through the air. They have never heard it before. They push up from the chair, ready to find Zayn’s mum when the boys come bursting into the room.

Niall’s face is bright red, Harry’s stressed. Ned’s just looks completely wrong without the shit eating grin and humored look he always wears.

“Where is Zayn?”

Scout shrugs, clutching hard onto the necklace. There had been something about Zayn’s face that they couldn’t read. It just screamed _trust me_ , and _emergency._

“Liam and Griff,” Niall exclaims, rushing back out of the room so that everyone has to follow him. “They are in the old, burnt down building on the edge of campus.”

“We have to tell Tricia,” Ned pipes up.

“She is in the office,” Scout tells them, though they don’t know where the office is.

The push open doors until they find it on the first floor, the thick mahogany desk and the tall shelves filled with items. The maroon curtains and the curl of scarlet that drips down Tricia’s face where she lays on the ground.

Scout rushes over to her first, falling to their knees so they can slide their fingers gently under her head. Scout brushes their fingers over her neck, and breathes out in relief when they feel the small thump of a pulse.

“She’s okay.”

+*

Zayn isn’t sure how many times one can pass out before it starts to badly affect your brain. But the pain in his skull only lasts a moment like earlier.

He feels like he is floating, staring up at a hole ridden and falling apart ceiling. It takes him a minute to realize he is in the labratory, and that Green is making him hover into the air as he walks.

Zayn doesn’t move, afraid of falling and alerting Green that he is awake. He feels on edge without his mother’s necklace around his throat, but if Liam’s father is here - he will want the necklace.

The feeling of Liam around him is overwhelming. It makes tears spark at his eyes. He knows Liam is some where close, and every step brings him closer to him.

Green isn’t careful about maneuvering him, and he hits the door frame hard with his left shoulder as he floats into a room he hasn’t been in before. As much as Zayn has ventured into this old burned down building, he has always attracted to one room.

Zayn’s back hits something hard and he lurches up onto his butt when he realizes he isn’t floating. But his eyes fill with fire as it suddenly appears around the lab desk he sits on.

“Mr. Malik.”

The fire disappears, revealing a man he would know anywhere. The man from his dreams, here in front of him. It makes him feel sick, seeing Liam’s features but wrong and twisted. His smile looks cruel, and a flicker of fear sends a cool air down Zayn’s spine.

“It is good to finally meet you,” Geoff starts. Zayn glances around the room, ignoring Liam’s father. No one else is in the room but his Professor, who stands with his hands out as if he is ready to fling Zayn into the air if he tries to move. “Your Professor has told me so much about you. Though, to be honest, I was expecting you to be a bit bigger. With all that power inside of you, and being your father’s son.”

Zayn’s eyes narrow. He slides his fingers over the desk absentmindedly, wishing he had a better power at this moment. If he turns invisible, Geoff could just light the whole room on fire.

“I don’t reckon I’m as powerful as you think.”

Geoff lifts his eyebrows, amusement crossing his features. He glances at Green. “Throw his hands up in the air.”

Zayn tenses, heart flipping his chest as he glares at Green. Green flicks his fingers, and a tickle takes over his arms but as he tenses his arms even more, they don’t move.

He doesn’t relax his tension even when Green puts his hands down, because Geoff makes his way over to him. He smells like a campfire, but it reminds him of a wildfire rather than a campfire like Liam.

“Like I said -”

Geoff reaches forward, pushing him hard in the chest until his back hits the table with a bang. Zayn gasps loudly, his throat hurting from it and his eyes watering.

It feels as if he can’t move under the weight of Geoff’s hand. His chest feels hollow under his touch, the coolness inside of him seeping away until Geoff’s hand feels like ice against him. He focuses his eyes on a light growing under Geoff’s shirt, a circle of light big enough to fit into the palm of his hand.

“Again, Green.”

Zayn tenses again, but this time when the tickle takes over his arms, they both float into the air above them.

“I thought so,” Geoff says, face hardening as he pulls his hands away. Zayn doesn’t move, even when Geoff walks off, wiping his hands off on his pants. “You aren’t wearing the necklace.”

Zayn looks back up at the ceiling. Green whispers his confusion with distaste.

“Tell me where it is,” Geoff says, ignoring the Professor. Zayn pushes himself up tentatively, feeling vulnerable on his back like that. “I will make sure Liam wears it. He is the one who should have had it all of this time, anyway.”

Zayn feels his body tense again as he narrows his eyes. “He wouldn’t wear it, he would just give it back to me.”

Geoff snorts. “He is going to leave with me, son. He told me -”

“No,” Zayn interrupts without meaning to. Panic surges through him. “He wouldn’t go with you.”

“He told me,” Geoff goes on, acting as if Zayn didn’t interrupt him though his eyes narrow slightly. “He would come with me if you weren’t hurt. He always wanted to be a hero, you know.”

Zayn’s panic worsens. That _does_ sound like Liam. “Then take me too.”

Geoff raises an eyebrow before he tucks his hands into the pockets of his pants. “That was easy. Love makes people dumb, truly.”

Zayn ignores this, because Geoff says it quietly as if he is speaking to himself. “Just tell me why you want us, specifically.”

Geoff presses his lips together for a moment, considering. “You’re very powerful Zayn. On your own. But you are like a plug, and Liam is your power source. A very powerful, power source. Plug you in, and I get even more power than if I were to just use you with the batteries you come with. I would use only him, but if I kill you, it kills the power.”

+*

Liam’s chest heaves up and down. Fear brackets through him, making him choke out a sound now that his father and Malia have stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind them.

He had screamed when Malia through Griff into the fire surrounding him, and the relief of him being okay is overwhelming.

“This is weird,” Griff says. His own chest rises and falls quickly, his own relief evident though he tries to give Liam a smile. “I can’t even feel it.”

Liam lets out a hoarse laugh. The pressure builds over his face, under his eyes and in his throat. There is this feeling in his chest that makes him feel like he is on the verge of breaking, and he can’t swallow it down.

“Don’t worry bro,” Griff says gently. “They will find us in here.”

Liam shakes his head. A tear releases from the corner of his eye as he realizes why he feels so overwhelmed. “Zayn is here.”

Griff stares at him, his expression darkening as the fire fades away from the both of them and Liam’s skin grows cold.

“We are here too.”

It is a voice he hadn’t been expecting, one that makes the rest of the tears holding tight to his eyelids slip over. He rips his head towards the broken and cracked window to see Niall’s very red face.

“Who thought up the bunnies?”

Liam lets out a quiet laugh, eyeing the closed door where he can almost make out a shadow that must be Malia’s. “Griff,” he whispers. He tickles his fingers against the rope around his wrist, trying to bring back that surge of flame.

“Good shit,” Ned says, popping up next to Niall. Liam can just make out Harry towering behind them and the short curls on the top of Scout’s head.

“Malay has guardians coming this way,” Niall whispers. “We are trying to find a way in.”

Liam feels the flame tickling over his wrist, the rope around his skin burning. “Go, get Zayn.”

“Actually,” Niall says, the grimace clear in his voice. “You should duck your head.”

Niall disappears from view then, and a moment later one of cabinets that probably held lab equipment before, surges into the air. Liam ducks at the same time as Griff. He wonders what Niall thought he was accomplishing as the cabinet goes crashing into the wall.

The noise is loud, and the door immediately flies open. Malia’s eyes are glaring, but over Liam’s head.

Liam flares, most trust in himself as he lets out a fire that covers the whole ground again. Malia screams, stepping out into the hallway as Niall steps through the hole the size of the cabinet he just created in the wall.

“You’re safe,” Liam says as he eyes Niall’s hesitancy in stepping into the fire. He cocks his head towards Griff, who stands it in as well.

“Okay,” Niall says, stepping in the fire with the rest of them following behind. Liam eyes the knife held tightly in Niall’s hand, and the one strapped to Ned’s waist. “Let’s go get your boo and get you two out of here.”

Liam runs first out, with flames rolling over the ground like waves in front of him. The building is quiet, and he can hear the shouts and alarms outside as he steps into the hallway.

It is wide, but his roommates stay close behind him. Liam prays he doesn’t damage the building anymore as the fire around them licks at the edge of the walls.

“Where do you think they have him?”

Liam feels him, close. The way a heartbeat takes over his skin, fast and erratic. He feels a fear, one that isn’t his own but becomes his own.

“Son,” Geoff says as he steps out of a classroom ahead of them. Flames erupt from him, stretching out behind him but not in front of him.

And Liam is thankful, because he has Zayn pressed to his chest with a tight grip around his throat.

The flames around Liam erupt, the sound of cracking coming from the wall to his right. He clenches his teeth and his fingers, but it doesn’t feel as if he can control it anymore.

“Is that Professor Green?” Niall whispers from his left as they all eye over the man that steps out with Malia to join Geoff.

“I’ve already taken quite a bit of his power,” Geoff says casually, as if he were discussing the weather. “You take another step and I’ll drain him.”

Liam freezes. He can’t take his eyes away from Zayn. He can see the reflection of tears in Zayn’s eyes.

“If you come with me,” Geoff says carefully. “I will let him go with some power left.”

“Liam,” Scout hisses from behind him. “Zayn isn’t wearing his necklace.”

Liam tenses even more. His mind is racing, and he doesn’t know what to do. Why is he in front? He isn’t a leader here -

“Go with you where?” Liam asks, his voice feelig louder than he meant it to be. Maybe if he distracts his father long enough, Malay will be able to get here with the guardians for back up. They will know what to do better than him. “I thought you wanted Zayn?”

Geoff still looks careful as he takes a step forward with Zayn. Zayn flickers from view a few times, but never truly disappears. Like he needs Liam to be able to see him.

“I need you, son. I need the boy who could overpower my own fire at such a young age.” Flames erupt in his father’s eyes, making him look more cruel than before. “I need the Man of Ignis for me to become him, you see.”

 


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry about the cliffhangers lol, just know I almost left the beginning of this chapter as last chapter's cliffhanger but changed my mind :p
> 
> Warning for violence in this chapter.

Malay sinks to his knees roughly, sending a sharp pain through his old bones from the impact of the hard ground. He swears he had never ran so fast in his life. The words had barely left Scout’s lips before his feet were pounding against the ground to get home. He had made most of his phone calls while running. Panic had taken over so bad he couldn't barely focus enough to actually figure out a plan.

He reaches out, brushing a thumb over her soft skin. His heart sinks in his chest. He doesn’t understand how he could let this all happen. Right in front of his eyes, and he has been blind. Scout had called him, telling him what happened - but now they are gone. The house is empty other than him and Tricia.

_Zayn is gone._

Tricia’s eyes work against the back of her eyelids for a long moment before they break open. Her face crunches in pain as she grabs Malay’s hand, keeping it flat against her cheek.

“James,” she says weakly before he helps her sit up and his heart clenches painfully. “Green did this to me.”

Malay cups her face with gentle hands to examine her face. He doesn’t know what to say to that. Guilt builds up through him, worse with the confusion inside of him. How did he let that slip past him? Green had been there the whole time, helping him protect the students.

“We know where Liam is,” Malay says instead, his voice softening. “I have sent a force their way. But half of the guardians are held up on the grounds. Intruders, working for Geoff, I think. Claim to be supporting the _Homme D’Ignis_.”

As long as Malay has known the woman before him, he has rarely heard her swear. But a soft one passes her lips as she curls her fingers around his bicep to steady herself. “Is that why Geoff took Liam?”

“Maybe,” Malay says quietly as he curls his hand under her elbow as she moves to get up. “We just have to hope he doesn’t know he only has to open the path between Liam and Zayn to access their full power.”

In everything, Malay prays Geoff doesn’t know he only needs one of them - Zayn, because he can’t bare with the thought of losing either of them. Liam makes his chest warm the same way Zayn does, and working with him the last few years made him realize why Tricia and Yaser swore to protect him all those years ago.

“Why are you here?” Tricia asks suddenly, panic making her eyes fly wide open. She makes a sound of pain as she rushes to her feet. She places a hand to her forehead, eyes closing as she catches her breath. “Why aren’t you with them?”

“Scout called me after they found you unconscious on the floor,” Malay gasps out. “My first concern was making sure you were okay. But when I got here -”

Trica looks up, and Malay only has to look at her for a moment for her to understand. She grabs his hand, fingers squeezing his. “Does he have my son?”

+*

It is like a vacuum, sucking out everything from him. It is hard to breathe, and the pressure on his throat makes his eyes water. Zayn wishes he could turn invisible, so Liam doesn’t have to see the panic in his eyes, but everytime he tries he just flickers from view for a moment.

As weak as he feels, he feels every emotion flooding from Liam. It is torture, really. Liam stands a few yards away, fire pouring out of him like a stream. His roommates all stand behind him, and if it were another situation, Zayn thinks he might be fond over the way they all look together. Like a team of heroes.

The panic is hidden deep under the anger radiating off of him, but Zayn can feel it either way. It makes him want to curl himself around Liam, stand between him and his father. But he can’t _move_.

“So you believe that souls coming together crap too?” Liam says, voice harder than he has ever heard it before. There is even a hint of accusation coating his words. He doesn’t know what Liam is talking about, or why they are just standing here talking. He feels helpless, and his roommates look unsure as they glance at Liam.

He is leading them. Zayn wonders if he is even aware of how powerful he appears at the moment.

“The souls being reborn shit?”

Geoff laughs, and it hurts his ear with how close the man’s mouth is to him. “It is hard not to believe,” he says. His hands squeezes harder around Zayn’s throat, nails digging into flesh and Liam’s eyebrows push together as pain twists over his face. “You felt that, didn’t you?”

Liam’s lips press tight together. His hands hang awkwardly by his sides like he isn’t sure what to do with them. Niall however, stands with a knife pointed out in front of him. And Ned grips his waist as if he is carrying one too, but his hand stays frozen on his side. He knows Malia and Green are to his right, and he tries to glance their way to see if his frozen roommates are because of them or not, but his eyes prickle with tears every time he tries.

“You can feel me taking his power, too. Can’t you?” Geoff goes on. His body is like fire where it touches Zayn’s back, and it flashes in his mind - the fire tracing over the walls, his mother’s screaming. Liam young and afraid, hiding away from the flames, running in this very hallway while attached to his mother’s chest. “Soon you’ll learn how to power him yourself, how to make your power one. Open up the pathway between the two of you -”

Zayn glances up at the ceiling. The smoke burns his eyes, making them water worse than the pressure on his throat. He opens his mouth to speak, to tell Geoff Liam is more than his power source, but he can barely do anything but make a rasping noise.

“I don’t believe in that stuff,” Liam says, but the uncertainty is in his eyes. The way his heartbeat skips a beat from Geoff’s words tell Zayn other wise.

Behind him, Griff’s brows furrow, his fingers reaching forward just enough that Zayn notices before the smell of rain washes through the smell of smoke. Geoff has never had control of his flame, but if Zayn had been right about the rain being Griff’s doing, than he isn’t sure if Griff is strong enough to wash away the fire before it turns deadly.

“You should,” Geoff says, grabbing Zayn’s hand suddenly. His touch burns, but Zayn only grits his teeth, his chest heaving as he tries to control the gasp of pain on his tongue. “Do you know how much power the two of you could create? There is a whole population of people waiting for your rebirth.”

Liam’s face only hardens more. A heat burns deep in Zayn’s belly as he watches Liam suck in a deep breath, like he wants to control the fire snaking up his legs. “What do want?”

“Tell your friends to go,” Geoff answers with ease. “Stop the fire, and come with me.”

“Let Zayn go,” Liam says, and there is something in his voice that makes the sound of his name make Zayn’s heart feel like it is trying to burst out of his chest.

The sound of his name makes it feel as if his chest is opening up, a coolness taking over his lungs and wrapping around his heart while the burn in his belly only burns hotter.

“Okay.”

Geoff jolts him forward, making him stumble over his feet and Liam’s hands fly up as if to catch him. But Geoff grips onto him again, this time harder. Heat builds under the hand over his throat, and as much as Zayn doesn’t want to show pain, he gasps at the feeling of his skin burning.

Flames lick over Liam’s chest and tickle down his arms. They dance over his throat and burn bright in his eyes. Zayn can feel it inside of him, the warmth radiating from Liam. He wonders if this is what Geoff meant by the pathway, because he feels Liam’s warmth radiating _into_ him.

“He isn’t wearing his necklace, as you can tell,” Geoff says through his teeth as he takes another step towards Liam. There is the distant sound of footsteps and yelling, and Zayn hopes it is Malay or someone who can help them.

His mum. Worry heavies his chest, because there is no way she would have let his roommates go find him without her.

“I’d rather not kill another Malik,” Geoff goes on, making Liam’s jaw tense painfully looking. “But, maybe anger will help you reach your full potential. Let’s see how big your flame can burn when you watch the one you love die.”

The fire surrounding his roommates seem to retreat as they all tense, absorbing back into Liam. Liam’s eyes are hard on his, and Zayn wishes he could look back without tears in his own.

The vacuum feeling in his chest seeps through him and down to his spine. He bites hard on his bottom lip, trying not to make a sound as he feels Geoff absorb more of his power. He focuses on Liam. He feels his strength flow back into him, like a heat radiating over his bones.

“Dead or alive,” Liam starts hesitantly, though his voice is strong. He glances at Zayn again, giving him a slight nod as if telling Zayn it is okay. He doesn’t even know how he is doing it, but he feels power rushing through him. A power that doesn’t belong to him, but feels more at home than his own. “I wouldn’t come with you.”

“Interesting,” Geoff huffs out. “Is that your final decision? I have the hallway blocked, your guardians won’t be able to make it here in time.”

“What?” Zayn breathes, the sound hurting his throat. He feels as if he is a second from catching on fire himself. Liam’s power is powerful, rocking through him like a wildfire, and Liam doesn’t look as if it is affecting him.

Zayn feels the vibrate of Geoff’s chuckle before Geoff’s hot breath slides over his ear.

“You’re taking his power,” he whispers, sending a shiver down Zayn’s spine. “And giving it to me, like I hoped. That will have to do, since we don’t have much time left before company arrives.”

Dread rushes Zayn. He tries to struggle against Geoff, but fire burns from under his fingertips every time he moves. He is pinned, but the fire inside of him burns hotter.

Zayn feels a tear slip over his eyelid as Liam takes a step forward and Niall steps up beside him, the fire gleaming off the shiny part of his sharp knife. There is a light in boyfriend’s eyes, like a flashlight shining out from between his eyelids. It shines bright, brigher than the flames slowly eating the building.

It reminds him of the Hidden Queen in his dreams, the way her eyes had lit up as she tried to save her lover. The way fire burned out of control around her despite his shallow breaths, like she had been the one controlling them.

“It’s too much for you to control,” Liam says loudly, voice demanding to be heard. Sounds of the walls cracking and pieces of the ceiling fall echo through the hallway. It sounds like it is coming from behind him, as if Geoff’s fire is burning more angrily than Liam’s. “You’re going to burn the down the building.”

“I only need one of you,” Geoff says, but his words are gritted through his teeth. There is panic in his voice. It is hard to hear, but there. “Where do you think your power will go if you die? Now that you have opened the pathway between you two? Into thin air? Or your little boyfriend here? Green tells me here you’re dumb, but I see it didn’t take much for you to understand this soulmate shit you don’t believe in.”

“Trust me,” Liam mouths, eyes intent on Zayn as he ignores his father. Zayn only has to nod like he is giving Liam permission before he feels it under his fingertips, a tickle under his skin before the flames erupt over his hands. It sizzles deep, and for a moment, Zayn understands why it is so hard to control the flame. It builds over his hands, crawling up his arms, and he locks eyes on Liam’s one last time before Liam darts his hands out.

At the same time as Geoff’s voice booms through the burning hallway. “Kill the power source!”

Flames take over Zayn’s eyes, bright and shocking. Everything around him disappears, and he can only hear shouts and screams. Some far away, some loud in his ear. The heat is overwhelming, but it feels similar to the way it feels to have Liam wrapped around him as they sleep at night.

Geoff screams, his hands falling away from Zayn. Fire snakes over his skin where Geoff’s touch had been, but it takes him a moment to realize the fire isn’t hurting him, but protecting him. He had been wrong. Liam wasn’t draining his power by giving it to him, but strengthening his own and Zayn’s.

By becoming one. The flame burning around him is as much his own as it is Liam’s.

Pain erupts over his side, forcing him to fold forward. It is nauseating, the way it rocks through him. It makes him choke almost as much as the smoke that twists through his lungs. He can barely move, when he tries he hits clunky boots he can’t see.

Zayn sucks in a deep breath and the fire disappears. The pain doesn’t, it feels as if he has been stabbed in the belly.

“Zayn!”

Zayn gasps out a cough as he feels a body hit him. It is Niall, he can tell by the smell of his sharp after shave. He can barely focus on the words coming out of his mouth, or the way scarlet covers his hands. He feels as if he can’t move, he can barely stand up.

He can’t do anything but feel the pain, and think about how it isn’t his own. An echo of Geoff’s voice in his ears, telling whoever to kill his powersource.

It is the worst pain he has ever felt. One that takes over his chest as he looks up through his watery eyes at where Liam rests on his knees, hands over his stomach a few yards away from him. There is a distant look in his eyes as his name rips from Zayn’s throat. It is like time runs in slow motion as he pushes off his left foot, watching Liam fall backwards, lips parted as blood dribbles down his chin.

+*

If Liam trusts anything, he trusts that he would never hurt Zayn.

He can feel his pain, he can feel his father taking away Zayn’s power. He can feel Zayn growing stronger because of him, and his father just taking it away. He doesn’t know how he is doing it, isn’t sure he believes in this whole souls becoming one thing, but he doesn’t have too much time to think about it. His father said he could make Zayn stronger, and he wants to do it.

And then he did.

It is just a whisper of a thought, and suddenly Liam feels a power like he hasn’t felt before. It is overwhelming, a confidence like he has never felt before. Every nerve in his body screams Zayn’s name, his heart thumping in beat with his boyfriend’s. It feels like his chest opens and the power pours out of him to twirl through the air until it connects with Zayn.

His eyes linger over the fire taking over Zayn’s hands. Liam didn’t do that, that was all Zayn. It doesn’t make sense, but it doesn’t matter. There isn’t enough time to think about anything other than getting Zayn away from Geoff, and getting them out of here. The fire behind Geoff burns angrily, and pieces of ceiling fall from over head.

“Trust me,” Liam says, eyes locked onto Zayn’s. Zayn barely nods his head before he is hidden behind a burst of fire, and Liam isn’t sure if he did that or if Zayn did.

_Kill the power source._

He eyes Green move and Liam moves too, his roommates suddenly broken from their frozen spell. His palm burns as he pushes his hand out. Flames fly, but it isn’t before Green moves his own hand, jerking it sharply.

Niall cusses loudly in his ear. It is a painful sound, sounding too much like his name and for a moment Liam wonders why, until he feels sharp pain exploding into his abdomen. It chokes him, and he is barely aware of Niall grabbing for him as he falls to his knees.

He eyes the handle of Niall’s knife, the metal hidden underneath his pajama shirt and his scarred skin. His lips feel wet as he sputters out, touching the scarlet seeping down his shirt. He doesn’t feel Zayn anymore, it is suddenly gone, like it has been vacuumed out of him.

Everything feels slow around him, like it is taking him forever to fall back. His eyes feel heavy as he stares ahead, watching the flame slowly disappear around Zayn. His ears echo with the scream, but the sound of Zayn’s pained voice wrecks through him.

+*

“Help me.”

Zayn’s hands are shaking, and he can barely see with the tears taking over his eyes. His whole body is shaking actually, his mind blank but running a mile at the same time. All the noise around him feels distant, far away.

“Help me, please,” Zayn says. He isn’t even sure if he can be heard. Is he yelling? Whispering? He can’t tell. He doesn’t even know who he is talking to just - anyone.

He can’t feel anything but the earthquake of a tremor taking over him. He can’t feel Liam. It is hollow inside. He had felt the thump of Liam’s heart beat one moment, in sync with his own, and now it is gone.

“You can do it.”

Scout’s voice is far away, and their words sound muddled together and hard to understand.

“Zayn,” Scout says loudly, grabbing Zayn’s shoulder and making his eyes rip away from where his hands hover over the base of the knife, and the flood of scarlet that grows bigger by the moment. Tears rush down their face as they grab Zayn’s. “Take the knife out.”

“I need,” Zayn gasps out, unsure of what he needs other than Liam to be okay. In the back of his mind, a tiny voices tells him to calm down. But he can’t. His whole world is falling apart around him, he can feel fingers shredding at his chest. “He is dying. Liam’s dying.”

The squelch of the knife seems loud in his ears as Scout pulls it out of him. Zayn gasps, reaching out to cover over where the scarlet bubbles out rapidly, no hesitation. He tells himself, no hesitation. _Just act, don’t think._

Scout’s hands cover his own, keeping them pressed down on Liam. “Remember when I was hurt? And it went away? You healed me.”

Zayn stares at him, shaking his head slightly. Sobs hiccup out from his throat, and he isn’t doing very well at calming himself down. It _feels_ true, like a fact he learned but once doesn’t remember learning. But he doesn’t know how, it has taken him forever just to get some control over his invisibilty.

Scout gives him a smile that lacks all joy. It just holds assurance. “You’re always having a crisis so I didn’t mention it. But I know you can.”

Around them, he is somewhat aware of his roommates yelling and the sound of heavy foosteps, as if someone else joined them. Someone is saying his name, screaming it, but he can’t focus.

“It’s too late,” Zayn gasps, voice filled with tears as he stares down as Liam’s pale face. Not a movement from him. It breaks through him, the pain. It feels worse than Geoff vacuuming the power from him. It just feels as if it is gone, completely. He can’t even feel his heartbeat anymore.

“Fucking try, Zayn! God - fuck!”

Zayn digs his fingers in, his sobs bracketing his chest. He thinks of the power he felt from Liam, how it made him feel more powerful than ever. The way Liam’s eyes lit up. The way it rocked through his spine and settled in his abdomen. How every nerve seemed to be screaming Liam’s name.

He feels it, a soft thump across his skin. Too slow, too weak.

He thinks of the Hidden Queen, the way her eyes had shined the way Liam’s did earlier. The way her fingers had dug into the Man of Fire’s skin, the power pouring out of her fingertips.

But it had been too late for her. The Man of Fire died at the end of the story, with the Queen laid over his body.

“Come on sunshine.”

Zayn doesn’t look away from Liam as he hears his mother’s voice in his ear, or when her hands slip over his own bloody covered ones. “What happened?”

“Help me, please,” Zayn whispers, hunching forward so his tears drop over Liam’s cheeks. “Don’t leave me, please.”

“He lit his dad on fire,” Scout says from far away, their voice no longer sure and confident, but panicked. “I think they thought killing him would stop the fire.”

Power surges through his arms as he slides his hands over Liam’s abdomen and drops his forehead against Liam’s shoulder. He drags his sob gently over his chest as he focuses, but he can't help the mantra of pleading. He can't rid the desperation filling him, worse with every moment that passes by. Every moment that can turn into _too late_. If he isn't already too late. “Please, please, please.”

He feels the thump of Liam’s heart under his lips as he presses them down. The way his chest rises, but just a little bit. Not enough, not enough. _Please, please, please._

“The building is going to collapse! We have to get out!"

Hands tug at him, but Zayn doesn’t move. “Go!” he screams at whoever is touching him. He can hear the walls crashing around him, and he wishes they would be quiet so he can hear if Liam lets out a breath, or any sound.

"We can't leave him!"

"We can, it is _his_ fire."

The power rushes out of Zayn. He feels it in his fingertips. His whole body fills with the feeling. Zayn chokes out a sob, pushing back up on his knees as he curls his fingers against the closing wound.

Fire tickles over the back of his hand  as he slides them over Liam’s chest. They dance over his arms, climbing up them until he feels them tickle across his bruised feeling throat. It dances down from the ceiling, like flickering red and orange rain drops. The crashing of the ceiling in the hallway is loud and echoing in his ears, and he hopes everyone else got out.

The fire floods over the ground, angry and screaming. It is hotter, but Zayn feels like he is the furnace for once, as if the heat is being pulled out of his own gut and not Liam’s.

And the tickle around the crown of his head, it is similar the one he feels in his spine. He focuses on that, the way Malay had taught him to focus on his lower spine.

“Liam,” Zayn says, sliding his hands up Liam’s chest until he can lean and press their foreheads together. How is he supposed to know if it works? He slides his hand over Liam’s cheek, but he still feels cold compared to how he normally feels. “I can’t be too late, please don’t let me be too late.”

He lets out a quiet sob as he pushes his lips against Liam’s, feeling like he could shatter into a million pieces. It is a mantra on his tongue, a whispered begging.

That feeling worsens, but out of relief as he feels Liam’s soft gasp of breath against his lips and the sharp intake of breath that echoes in the hallway. Zayn just pushes his lips harder against Liam’s, unable to pull away.

He can’t stop the sobs bracketing from his chest and the tears flooding from his eyes as he feels Liam’s fingers knock against his belly. It felt like hours living without Liam’s heartbeat against his skin.

Every breath he feels against his lips makes his heart ache with relief.

Liam’s eyes remain closed, his face slowly turning to a deep shade of red. Tears stick to his eyelashes, and Zayn can’t be sure if they are Liam’s or his own.

“Babe,” Liam coughs out, his fingers knocking against Zayn’s belly again as his eyes flutter open. “You’re on fire.”

“I thought I lost you,” Zayn says, grazing his fingers over Liam’s burning cheek. He can feel it, the flames growing from every inch of his skin. It’s his own fire burning down the building his parents died in.

Liam smiles weakly, his grip tightening around Zayn’s sweat soaked shirt. “My soul wasn’t going anywhere, not while it was holding onto the other half of it.”

Zayn lets out wrecked sob, nudging his nose against lips.

“But love, I think the building is falling apart,” Liam whispers, dragging Zayn’s attention back to the fact they are sitting in a sea of fire.

Zayn stands first, staying crouched as pieces of the ceiling continue to fall. He helps Liam up, and Liam holds onto him as if his body is too heavy for himself.

“I think it’s mine,” Zayn starts, eyes darting around the room. He can just make out a still, bulky figure laying in the hallway, where Geoff had been. There is nothing else in the hallway, no one else. “Ours, I mean.”

“Ours,” Liam repeats, sliding his arm over Zayn’s shoulder. His heart beat is shallow, his skin pale, and suddenly Zayn’s worry worsens. “S’good.”

“Let’s get out of here, jaan,” Zayn says quietly, taking a step into the fire in front of them. He can’t tell the way out, but he hopes this is the right way. He thinks it is the way his roommates ran.

“Niall blew a hole in that room,” Liam mumbles quietly, his finger flicking up in the direction they are headed. “Where is my dad?”

Pain grips at Zayn’s chest as he helps Liam stumble forward. There was such an innocence to his voice around ‘ _dad_ ’ that he thinks about the little boy again, hidden amongst the flames in the same building. The fat scared tears bubbling over his round cheeks as he ran away from him.

“I think he’s gone,” Zayn says softly, placing a hand over Liam’s abdomen. He doesn’t know how to go about healing anyone, but he hopes just thinking about it does it. In case he hadn’t healed Liam enough.

“Good,” Liam murmurs, eyes falling shut as his grip around Zayn’s shoulders tighten.

There is screaming when Zayn pulls Liam out of the very large hole in the wall. The night air is cold compared to the heat that had been absorbing them. The smell of smoke lingers between them as Zayn helps Liam to sit in the grass because of the way his knees buckle out from underneath him. He feels weak, and he hasn’t opened his eyes.

“We have to get you to the infirmary,” Zayn says after a moment. The pound of his feet, his name, Liam’s name. But he doesn’t look up, he can’t look away from Liam.

“I’m okay,” Liam huffs before he reaches out to cup his hand around the back of Zayn’s neck. His eyes light up again, and it feels like something just for him. “What does jaan mean?”

Zayn sputters out a wet, hysterical laugh, his shoulders jerking up. “I don’t know,” he whispers. “Just felt right.”

Zayn has to throw up a hand suddenly as Niall practically flies into the spot next to him. The lad isn’t gentle in the way he wraps his arms around Liam. “Knife just flew right out of me hand, mate.”

Zayn falls back onto his calves, watching the fire that snakes from Liam’s fingers towards him for a moment before it disappears.

+*

Zayn never wants to be in the infirmary again.

And it is worse this time, with Liam the one lying on the hospital bed. Even knowing he is okay, it makes an uncomfortable static settle in his chest.

Zayn wipes a thumb over his thick eyebrows from where he sits on the edge of the bed, smiling softly. “For someone who struggles so much for control and using their power, you really showed up tonight.”

Liam’s nose wrinkles as he rubs his hand over Zayn’s thigh. “Fight or flight, I guess. Could say the same about you, Mr. Healer.”

Zayn returns the soft smile as he drags his thumb over Liam’s swollen bottom lip. “You knew by giving me power, it was powering your father.”

Liam sighs slightly, fingers gripping into his thigh before he wraps his fingers around Zayn’s wrist to press a kiss to the center of his palm. “I know. I wasn’t going to let him drain you. Plus, you became a fire power.”

Zayn appreciates the way Liam’s face lights up then. The other lad keeps saying he is okay, but his pink cheeks don’t burn as bright and he needed help getting to the infirmary. Zayn hopes it was the almost dying that tired him out, and not the sharing of his power.

“I’m sorry,” Liam mumbles. “That my family ruined yours.”

Zayn crunches his face together as he stares down at Liam. He could laugh really, that that is what Liam is thinking about after everything that has happened.

“He isn’t your family,” Zayn tells him gently but Liam seems to distracted in his own thoughts that Zayn isn’t even sure that he is listening anymore.

“I think your dad only died because of me,” Liam says so quietly that Zayn has to strain his ears to hear. “He wanted your mum to get me out. They could have just left me there.”

Zayn shakes his head, letting his eyes follow where his finger traces Liam skin because Liam stares up at the ceiling, away from him.

“I’m -”

“Liam,” Zayn interrupts before he can apologize again. “Do you know what it felt like, seeing you hurt like that?”

Liam looks at him then, eyes watering. He shakes his head.

“I felt like everything inside of me was broken,” Zayn whispers quietly, his voice watering as much as Liam’s eyes. “I feel like I have loved you my whole life. I wasn’t ready to lose you.”

Liam wrinkles his nose again. “You’re not going to,” he whispers quietly. “Do you remember when the Man of Ignis told the Queen about their souls belonging together?”

“‘ _Do you believe in two souls becoming one? Because I have not felt whole until I met you_ ,’” Zayn recites in a whisper.

Liam nods, groaning slightly as he lifts his arms up to wrap around Zayn’s back to press their chests together. It is a bit uncomfortable, but Zayn likes the way he can feel Liam’s heart beating under his own.

“I feel whole like this,” Liam whispers, tilting his chin up so the words breeze against Zayn’s lips. “Even if we have the most fucked up history.”

Zayn snorts, smothering his chuckle against Liam’s lips. “Don’t tell me you believe that soulmate crap?”

The smile on Liam’s lips makes the wrinkles by his eyes deepen as he fits a hand over Zayn’s spine. “Don’t you? Isn’t that why you left the book for me to read?”

“I don’t know,” Zayn breathes, eyes searching Liam’s face as the door to his hospital room opens. He doesn’t know if he understands any of this. The only thing he does understand is the way Liam makes him feel.

Tricia rests against the door frame, a soft smile across her lips. “Liam, when you were younger, you stayed at my house for a bit.” She walks in, closing the door behind her. “Yaser was extremely fond of you.”

Zayn feels Liam tense slightly as Tricia walks over to them. She runs a hand over Liam’s forehead. “I remember like it was yesterday. We were outside watching you two while you played. Zayn fell down, and when you helped him up, you kissed him on the nose.”

Zayn feels his face grow warm and his spine cold as Liam grows hotter.

Tricia laughs quietly. “Yaser told your mom that when you walk down the aisle, he would have to be one walking you. Planned out your whole wedding that night.”

Liam huffs out a laugh, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Was he only fond of me because he thought me to be the Man of Ignis?”

Zayn frowns in confusion as he slips his fingers down to Liam’s chest. It worsens, when his mother grows quiet for a moment.

“Yaser believed we would meet the Man of Ignis and the Hidden Queen again, yes,” Tricia starts as she pads towards the chair sitting a few feet away to sit. “He thought him to be your father. It is almost unheard of for someone to be able to create fire out of thin air. My husband was afraid that the vengeance the myth says they will come back with was why your father was always angry and mean. You gave him hope.”

“What did you think?” Liam asks quietly. He slides his fingers over Zayn’s absentmindedly, and Zayn can’t stop thinking about the way the Hidden Queen’s eyes had lit up in his dream as her lover laid before her dying.

They thought killing him would stop the fire, but Zayn thinks their fire is just burning hotter, stronger.

“I was never a believer,” Tricia tells them. She goes quiet for a moment. “Until now.”

+*

“I’ve _known_ you were soulmates,” Niall huffs out haughtily as he kicks his feet over one of the waiting room chairs. Their roommates have been camped outside of Liam’s hospital room since he had been brought in. Malay stands in the hallway towards the receptionist desk a few feet away, refusing to leave after he escorted Liam’s mother into Liam’s room.

She had arrived to campus before all of this had happened, but Malay had practically locked her in his office surrounded by guardians. He didn’t trust her, and the way he looked at her as he ushered her into Liam’s room, told Zayn that he still doesn’t.

“Everyone has known,” Niall goes on. “Why do you think it was so annoying that you and Liam didn’t know?”

Zayn grins, hiding it behind his hand as he eyes the door to Liam’s room. Karen had slipped in a moment ago, and Liam had been hesitant before he asked Zayn if he could have a moment alone with her.

“Want to talk about annoying?” Ned pipes in, pointing at Niall. “Try hearing the two of them thinking about how in love they are with each other and then think about how the other is never going to feel the same.”

Zayn feels his face grow hot as laughter fills the room. He doesn’t disappear though the cold sizzles down his back.

“You and Liam are one of the reasons I know true love exists,” Scout adds as they kick their foot against Zayn’s, an easy smile on their face as if they want to ease the teasing from the other roommates.

Zayn softens, kicking Scout’s foot back. “You’ll find someone.”

Scout snorts before rolling their eyes. Their fingers itch through the thick, coarse curls at the top of their head, which have changed into a bright red instead of their normal golden tipped. “Find me someone who doesn’t look at me like my head is off when I tell them I’m non-binary. Or when my skin turns to rock out of nowhere, I’m sure that will be a huge turn on.”

“Find me someone who doesn’t date me just because it is part of their evil plot to steal my best friends’ powers,” Griff adds.

The room goes quiet for a moment before everyone lets out an awkward laugh, making Griff look sheepish and apologetic. But Zayn has already warned him over and over again to quit with the apologies.

“I don’t even want to date,” Ned sighs, pulling his legs up to wrap his arms around them. “I just want to hang out with someone who doesn’t think so loudly.”

Niall sighs, tucking a hand behind his head. It feels like they have all been up for days on end. With the rain clearing, Zayn can make out the break of the morning sun through the windows. “At least you don’t have to share your boyfriend with a herd of bunnies.”

“They’re not domestic,” Harry mutters where he sits in his chair, half asleep. “Colony of bunnies.”

“Soulmate stuff sounds scary,” Scout goes on with a grimace. “Did you see the way Zayn’s eyes lit up all weird like that?”

Zayn glances at them, brows furrowing. “When?”

“When Liam’s dad had you. It was like, your eyes were lamps. You looked possessed.”

“Be respectful,” Griff scolds playfully, slapping Scout gently in the shoulder. “We are in the presence of an ancient old Queen.”

Zayn frowns, heart squeezing uncomfortably. He is thankful for the distraction when Liam’s door opens, because he doesn’t know how he feels about this soulmate stuff and he doesn’t want to think about it. But his body tenses as Karen steps out, eyes reddened as she wipes at them. She drops her hand though when she gives them all a sheepish smile.

Zayn is out of his seat and headed towards the door before it closes.

“Zayn,” Karen says, grabbing his waist gently before she moves her hand away apologetically. “Thank you for everything.”

Zayn only nods before he steps into the room and shuts the door behind him.

Liam is staring up at the ceiling, eyes watery. Zayn had felt his heart clench while he had been sitting outside, but he had tried to distract himself with his roommates.

“My mum told him who my roommates were. Malia couldn’t track me down, because of something Malay did a long time ago. To hide me, I guess. But she told him. That is why Malia went after all of you.”

Zayn plays with the handle of the door as Liam speaks, his eyes trained on the ceiling. His voice is distant, and broken. He hates it.

“Niall’s dad helped me dad escape. He told my mum about it. She only warned Malay because her second thoughts were that she was wrong about him.” Liam lets out a sarcastic laugh. “She spent my whole childhood afraid of him, and I tried my hardest to not be angry with her because I thought fear was why she didn’t leave him, or why she always made excuses for him. But she was finally free from him and she did that. I don’t even get why she bothered to tell me.”

Zayn walks over to Liam as the temperature in the room flares up. Liam’s skin is sweaty, and the blanket that had been covering him is now twisted around his ankles. “Liam -”

Liam huffs out a breath, eyes falling shut so Zayn can only see the tears clinging to his eyelashes. “I just want to feel everything for a few minutes before I try being rational and understanding.”

Zayn nods, sitting back down on the edge of the bed. Liam grips his shirt instead, tugging him down to lay beside him.

He cradles Liam’s side, fingers doodling small shapes across his chest. Waves of emotion float off of Liam, and it is overwhelming, but Zayn hopes Liam can feel the love floating off of him.

“I’m going to tell Malay,” Liam whispers more to himself than Zayn. “Have her sent to Inis with Green and that Malia chick.”

“She realized her mistake.”

Liam turns his head, until his lips knock against Zayn’s forehead. He doesn’t say anything for a moment, and the only sound in the room is the monitors beeping and the growing sound of Liam’s heart.

“She said there is a whole group of people out there, in the village, waiting for us,” he whispers after a moment. “Think we are revived souls, can save them or summat. They were following my dad, thinking he was the Man of Fire. Some of them were arrested for helping him.”

Zayn’s heart clenches in his chest. “I think we should try to graduate from the Academy before we lead people.”

Liam lets out a painful sounding snort. “Is it possible to pass if you miss half the semester?”

Zayn huffs out a laugh, moving around until his chest is hovering over Liam’s. He rubs his fingers soft over Liam’s reddened cheek as Liam settles his head into the pillow. “Maybe it was just your father we had to save them from.”

Liam nods as he reaches up to rub his thumb against Zayn’s cheek. “Thank you for saving me from him.”

Zayn drops his head a bit to brush his lips over Liam’s. They still are dry and chapped, but it is better than the scarlet that had coated them earlier. “We are one, remember? It was all selfishness on my part.”

A smile so bright breaks over Liam’s lips. “Well, either way, thank you.”

“I love you, you know that?” Zayn whispers quietly.

Liam nods, fingers knotting in Zayn’s shirt. “I love you, as well.”

+*

_I can heal people._

_She has a kind face. Everything about her is gentle, from her smile to the way she takes Zayn’s hands into her own. She slides her fingers over the back of his hands, before turning them, and tracing over the lines of his palm._

_A spark of a flame appears._

_“You can do a lot more than just that,” the Queen says quietly. They both watch as the flame grows. “You can do more than you’ll ever imagine.”_

_“Tell me,” Zayn whispers urgently, pleading._

_“Your Man of Fire needs you,” the Queen goes on, her voice light and sing songy. “Some wounds can’t be seen, but they still need to be healed.”_

_“I need him too,” Zayn tells her as she slides her palm over the flame to put it out. Her smile grows as her eyes flicker up to him._

_“You do,” she says. “That is why our soul will always find his.”_

 

“Did you believe in the legend too?”

Zayn looks at Malay expectantly. He has definitely aged. His black hair has grayed around the ears, and the wrinkles around his face have deepend.

But Zayn doesn’t think he has ever looked more alive. There is brightness in his eyes that Zayn has never noticed wasn’t there. But now it burns so brightly, especially when his mum walks into the room.

He hasn’t mentioned it.

“I do,” Malay says, settling back in his seat. Zayn hasn’t seen much of him since the intrusion. He has been busy putting up new protection around the school, finding those in the village who had escaped after helping Geoff, and at Inis, enforcing stronger punishments for Malia and Green - and finding a new professor.

Plus, he offered to have a memorial service for Liam’s father. For Liam, if he wanted one. But Liam refused. Zayn had tried to convince him it might be a good thing, a way of closure, but Liam insisted his father didn’t deserve another thought.

“Your father did too,” Malay says after a moment. “Your mum not so much. She loved the _idea_ of it, but she didn’t believe in the truth of it. Your father wanted to prepare for them, but when he thought the Man of Fire to be Geoff Payne - he wanted to be able to stop him.”

Malay lets out a long sigh before opening his desk drawer. “He tried convincing me it was Liam before your father passed. And I will tell you, while working with the boy, I had been skeptical. I wasn’t sure if he was just frustrated, easily overwhelmed, or if he just really couldn’t access that kind of power.”

It is a ratty notebook that he pulls out of the drawer. The pages are yellowed and ratted around the edges, and the binding is falling apart, but Zayn recognizes it instantly from the thousands of others just like it in Malay’s house.

His father’s.

Malay places it on the desk in front of him. “Your dad talks about it a bit in here. About watching the flames that used to tickle Liam’s feet when he was a little boy. The first time he ever wondered if you were apart of it all.”

Zayn touches it gently, afraid that it will fall apart from a simple touch. “Is this why my dad wanted to protect Liam?”

Malay shakes his head as he rests his elbows against the desk. “Your parents wanted to protect Liam because he was a young boy in a bad situation. The Man of Fire was a second thought to all of that.”

Zayn considers that as he drags the notebook closer to him. “Geoff says Liam is my power source.”

“That doesn’t mean you do not have power without him,” Malay says almost immediately. Zayn doesn’t respond, because he isn’t looking for validation. He is looking for a way to understand everything that has been throw into his lap. “But together, you become a power we have not seen before.”

Zayn drags his teeth over his bottom lip until they feel raw. “What does that mean? What am I supposed to do with that?”

Malay sighs again, lips quirking up some as he reaches over the desk to wrap his hands around Zayn’s. “Right now, you are supposed to catch up on your homework, graduate from the Academy, and work on the powers you have access to. We will figure out each step as you’re ready to take it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter! (Except for the epilogue I am posting at the same time!) I really hope you enjoyed this story, it was quite different than what I'm used to writing. It was hard, but also something I'm glad I could finish. I am sorry again, for the wait between chapters and thank you everyone for understanding. Please let me know what you think? And thank you everyone who has commented, or sent me messages about this fic. The encouragement and support has meant the world to me. 
> 
> And everyone who has sent me encouragement and support of the two-ish years I have been writing fanfiction, you don't know how much it has meant to me. Sometimes I feel like SaHT should have been the fic I ended my ziam fanfiction writing career with, but I felt I had one more in me and I hope I did the whole superhero AU and soulmate thing justice. Love you guys lots xo


	13. Chapter 13

** EPILOGUE **

Liam ends up having a funeral for his father. It is quiet, out in farthest part of campus. Zayn holds his hand as he watches the coffin with Geoff Payne’s burned remains inside light up with flames. There is no emotion radiating off of Liam for him to understand what he is thinking, but Liam’s fingers squeeze tight around his own as the fire disappears and leaves nothing but ash in it’s place.

He can’t stop thinking about the Queen’s words. Some wounds can’t be seen, but still need to be healed. He hopes they are healing, as Liam doesn’t talk about it too often. But there is always a smile on his lips when Zayn is around him, so he thinks it might be.

He tells Karen never to speak to him again. They arrange it, a day when she isn’t there, to pick up the few belongings Liam has at his house before bringing his things to Malay’s. Being at his childhood home was strange, and Liam looked as if he didn’t fit. But Zayn admired the way he looked when he held music notes in his hand and a children’s book about superheroes. And he made sure to tell Liam how kind his Aunt Rose looked in the one picture he had of her.

Tricia takes Green’s job the next year. It takes quite some time for the chatter to die down every time she walks by. The _wasn’t she dead?_ whispered around him nonstop causes Zayn to disappear every time he hears it. Niall looks as if he is ready to fight anyone who says it, and he does. Which landed him a week in detention, that Malay always let him get out of early as long as he kept it hush hush. Zayn thinks that has something to do with the fact that whenever Niall sat in detention, birds sat on the window sill outside of the classroom and cawed loudly until Malay let him go.

And now they are graduating, and there is a hallow feeling in Zayn’s chest at the idea of leaving the Academy. But though it hasn’t been spoken out loud, he knows him and Liam aren’t going to go too far. Majid and Jordan had both stayed as interns in the steel room, and Liam spends most of his time there. Zayn doesn’t know what he wants to do, other than perfect his powers. And he can’t do that without Malay.

And Malay, he knows, doesn’t want him going too far either. He has mentioned it more than a few times, with a bit of worry coating his words as if Zayn is going to take off and leave and never return.

Liam’s skin is hot to the touch where Zayn’s hand traces down his spine. He glances over Liam’s shoulder, eyeing Liam’s face in the mirror in front of them. His graduation cap rests on the top of his head, but he has yet to put anything on other than his dress pants.

“ _Je ne peux pas vivre sans toi.”_

A brightness flickers in Liam’s eyes as his lips quirk up. “I don’t know but same to you, man chair.”

Zayn snorts loudly, face crumpling as he slips his hands over the tight of Liam’s muscles. They really should be getting ready, but instead, they have been curled around each other all morning. It rains lightly outside, and Zayn feels too lazy to do anything other than touch Liam. “What did you just say?”

“What you called me, the other day,” Liam says, the flush in his cheeks working itself down his throat and onto his chest. “Man chair.”

“ _Mon cher_ ,” Zayn corrects, words surrounded with laughter.

“Yeah, what I said,” Liam says, face crumpling together in confusion though his eyes shine bright with laughter.

Zayn hides his amused smile against Liam’s shoulder. His chest expands with a fondness that has never faded. Liam looks so adorable with the look of concentration that makes his face crumple together, and a deep wrinkle appear between his eyebrows.

“I don’t know how to do it,” Liam huffs out, staring at himself harder in the mirror as if he is afraid of missing himself flicker from view.

Zayn doesn’t know how to do it either. It is unexpected, the way a flame appears from his undoing. It usually comes with thinking about Liam, or being around Liam, but he does that so often he isn’t truly sure what causes it.

Zayn slides his fingers down Liam’s spine until his hand rests at the bottom. He circles the tight skin with his thumb. “Imagine ice right here. Imagine it traveling over your skin.”

He slides his hands back up Liam’s spine, keeping his eyes locked onto Liam’s as he touches him. “And then imagine that cold feeling taking over your bones.”

Liam goes quiet for a moment as Zayn rubs his lips over his skin. He doesn’t cool down, he just burns hotter.

“Should I say something to embarrass you? That usually works for me?”

Liam’s eyes rip open as he groans. He flips around, arms circling around Zayn’s shoulders without hesitation. “I don’t get embarrassed.”

“You snort and grunt in your sleep,” Zayn says, his tone serious even though laughter rumbles in his chest. “And fart, a lot.”

Liam’s nose wrinkles as he frowns. “I do not.”

“Remember that one time you came after like, ten seconds of fooling around.”

The red of Liam’s face deepens as his eyes blow open wide. Fondness grows quickly in Zayn’s chest. He hadn’t cared - and Liam knew that. The lad had been practically been dry humping him in his sleep, already worked up the moment his eyes opened. Zayn didn’t blame him.

“Or that one time you told me you couldn’t wait to get me back to the dorm and me mum overheard you and asked what the rush was?”

“Oh my god,” Liam gasps, eyes closing as he lets out another groan of complaint. It is sudden, the cold that sweeps over Liam’s skin as he disappears from view.

Pride makes his chest swell as he curls his arms around Liam’s waist as not to lose him. “You did it, babe.”

He can’t see Liam, but he can feel the steady of his heartbeat against his chest. Liam moves him, arms tightening around his shoulders until Zayn’s back is standing in front of the mirror.

“Oh my god, I did it. And you’re on fire.”

Zayn whirls around, eyeing the flame sitting on his shoulder. He wrinkles his nose, flinging his hand back to swat at Liam. “I didn’t do that, you did that.”

He feels Liam’s arm circle his waist again before his wet lips graze against his neck. “Does this mean we can have invisible sex?”

Zayn snorts, darting his hands around until he can slide them over the back of Liam’s hands. “I don’t know how well that will work.”

Liam chuckles hoarsely, smothering his lips against Zayn’s neck for a moment before he pulls back, and there is panic in his voice. “Wait, Zayn, how do I make myself not invisible? Zayn, help!”

+*

It is loud and noisy, there are hands all over him and laughter in his ears and Zayn just, he hasn’t felt happy in so long. Surrounded by his roommates, even though this is the last time they will all be together for a while. He is sad about that, but he keeps it deep.

Ned was offered a job with the guardians. Mind reading really comes in handy during questioning. And Niall and Harry are headed a few towns away, helping build a nature park. Griff is staying on campus too, after Malay offered him a job helping future students that come into the Academy able to control weather.

And Scout, they are going the farthest away. Across the country somewhere, making protective gear for the military. Zayn is the saddest about that, because he has always felt protective over Scout, and he doesn’t trust that Scout’s boyfriend can protect them as well as Zayn can.

But Liam tells him he is overreacting, with an amused laugh and a comment about how cute of a Baba he will be one day always following, and it makes Zayn forget about it for a moment.

And he shouldn’t worry, because he never asked Scout for his necklace back. That will ensure they will be protected.

“Graduated!” Scout yells, fists pumping into the air. “Thank fucking god.”

Zayn huffs out a laugh, curling his arms around Scout’s shoulders to pull them into another hug. “I’m gonna miss you.”

“Don’t worry,” Scout says, reaching up to hold their cap tight to their head so it doesn’t fall off. “I’ll be at your wedding. Right next to you, yeah?”

Zayn feels his cheeks burn as he snorts. “I don’t think that is going to happen any time soon, mate. Let’s arrange something before that, yeah?”

“You sure about that?” Scout asks, raising one eyebrow. Zayn stares at them for a moment, body going still as Scout nudges their chin behind him. He doesn’t turn, not until he hears the shouts and the coos from his other roommates. Mostly Niall.

Zayn feels like his chest is expanding as he starts to turn, opening up again to let the power flooding from Liam in. It is still overwhelming, the feeling. He never wants to get used to it. They have been working on how to do it more often, to control it, with the help of Malay and Tricia.

“Oh,” Tricia gasps from the left of their group, where she stands holding flowers that she had probably bought for him and Liam.

It feels as if everyone has parted around them, and for once Zayn doesn’t care that so many eyes are on him. He can’t stop looking at Liam, whose eyes burn bright from where he kneels a few feet in front of him.

“Um,” Liam says, his voice wet. He pulls off his graduation cap, revealing his sweaty hair and the way it sticks to his red forehead. “I know you hate this much attention on you.”

“Yes,” Zayn blurts, making a laugh ripple around them. Liam’s lips quirk up, making his cheeks big and round. There is water in his eyes, holding tight to his eyelids.

“Um, hold that thought,” Liam huffs out, overwhelmed sounding.

He opens what is in his hands, revealing nothing but light for a moment as the light above them shines down on the stone. It is quiet in the auditorium, nothing but Zayn’s heavy breathing hitting his ears.

“I had a speech prepared, um, about you make me feel whole. How pain seems far away when I’m around you, how -” Liam swallows thickly as his brows push together, “But now I’m nervous, and you uh, already said yes so. Will you marry me, Zayn?”

Zayn huffs out. His feet don’t feel like they are his own as he takes a step forward. It is like he is being pulled towards Liam by an invisible string, and he doesn’t mean to fall to his knees in front of the other lad, but he does.

He cups Liam’s hot cheeks between his hands. Flames flicker in his eyes, and he knows his own are lighting up. It comes with the feeling in his chest, the power surging through him and the chant of _love you, love you_ in his head. “Yes, I will. We are soulmates after all, aren’t we?”

The tear clinging to Liam’s eyelid slips down his cheek, and Zayn cups his cheek to swipe his thumb across his wet skin. “We are.”

Zayn smiles softly, pressing their foreheads together because his words are for Liam, and Liam only. “Even if my love for you wasn’t ingrained in my DNA, destined to happen because of some legend I don’t even know if I fully believe in, it would have happened anyway.  My heart would always have chosen you.”

Liam tilts his chin up so their lips brush together gently, and he doesn’t need to say anything in response. Zayn can feel anything he would say radiating from Liam’s chest and into his own.  


End file.
